Our Little Corner Of The Universe
by ZenBabe
Summary: AU: Haley is a sheltered girl, living in a rich family. Nathan is somewhat poor, downtoearth, yet somewhat of a rebel. Maybe he's all she needs for her to finaly branch out. But what happens when family gets in the way? Will they be able to fight all the
1. Chapter 1

**Our Little Corner Of The Universe**

**Chapter 1**

Haley knew what people thought about her. They saw her as 'the smart girl'. She would never be anything more to them. Sure she had friends, but they were basicaly thought of the same as she was. She wasn't one to worry about her reputation, but sometimes she just wanted to get totally wild one night just to show all of them that yes, infact, Haley James can have fun. But it was true, that she had never really let lose. Not that she didn't want to, but she was too afraid. And it was too late now. Everyone already knew that she was: Haley James, smart girl, who never has fun. She couldn't change it now. But sometimes she wished she could just turn back time and start high school over again more wild and out-going, like the people she only saw at school from a distance that she never even spoke to. Like Nathan Scott's crowd.

But then what would her parents think? She came from a very high class, rich family and they expected nothing less than perfection from their only child. Haley never wanted to let them down because then she would be embarrassing her whole family. But sometimes she thought her parents were too wrapped up in material things to notice if their daughter was even happy?

Once Nathan got to school he was ambushed by a big group of people. It was always like this. They all wanted to hear about the crazy things he had done over winter break. See, Nathan lived alone with his mom, Deb, his father, Dan, having gotten a heart attack when Nathan was just a small boy and he died. Nathan's mom was working day and night, and they were only getting just enough money to survive. But with Nathan's mom gone all the time, Nathan was left pretty much unsupervised for most of his life. I mean, he loved his mother and she loved him and they were somewhat close, but she was never around and never aware of his habits. He had made himself a pretty solid reputation of the bad boy. Every High School had one. You know the type: No one messes with him. Not even the teachers. But it's not like he was big and scary or anything, he was actualy nice... when he wanted to be. He had a bunch of friends and was like the popularity King at Tree Hill High. Girls would swoon over him and guys would wish they were him. Nathan didn't know any other rutine than that one so he just let everyone worship him.

He knew that eventualy he wanted to make a life for himself. He didn't plan on living his whole life poor and uncomfortable. Of course, to make a good living you need to go to school. But Nathan and going to class somehow did not mix. The only reason he came to school everyday was for basketball, which was probably his only real passion. He went to a minimal amount of classes at school to maintaine a C- average, which was the grade he needed to stay on the basketball team.

OK, January. January of Junior year at Tree Hill High. That's not too late is it? Haley thought. Everytime after winter or summer break, Haley promised herself that she would change for the better. Like start going to parties, or join the cheerleading squad or something. But she never brought herself to do it. And plus, she had no one to encourage her to, because she never told anyone that she wanted to change. She wouldn't tell her best friend, Lucas, because she knew that he would laugh at her and she didn't think she would have the guts to not laugh with him. But she was serious.

Haley sighed as she walked through the front doors of Tree Hill High and she made her way to her locker. She started getting her books ready when she heard a voice behind her:

"No way, you like Green Day?" Haley turned around and saw the last person she would ever expect to see. I mean in all the two and a half years that Haley had gone here they had never spoken to each other. She was surprised he even knew who she was? Everyone knew who he was...

"Nathan, hi." Was the best thing Haley could think of saying. It's not that she was intimidated by him, but she just didn't have much to say. She didn't want to embarrass herself. "Wait, how did you know I like Green Day?" She asked confused.

Nathan pointed to her open locker door. Haley looked back at it and saw all the pictures of Green Day that she had put up on it. Of course, Haley thought. She could be so stupid sometimes! How could she think that Nathan Scott would actualy know things about her!

"Oh, right," Haley said.

"So, look, I need you to tutor me." Nathan blurted out.

"What?" Haley asked. That came totally out of the blue, she thought. Why me? Out of all the turors in the school he chose me? Haley thought.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Nathan said. "My good pal Principal Turner just told me that the basketball requirements have gotten stricter and I now need an average grade of a C+. And since I'm practicaly retarded... I need you to tutor me. Mr. Turner recomended it himself." Nathan said.

Of course Mr. Turner recomended it himself, or else Nathan Scott would not even be talking to me right now, Haley thought. Tutor Nathan? Nathan Scott? What kind of trouble would that get her into? She couldn't possibly...

"OK, sure, why not?" Haley blurted out. OK, so she couldn't say no. Who said no to Nathan Scott? She knew that this wasn't the best idea, but something in her gut told her to go for it. This might just be the one thing to changer her for the better.

"Alright, thanks Haley." Nathan said. And the smile he gave her actualy seemed genuine. Not some fake grin, but he seemed really appreciative towards her. Haley nodded and Nathan walked away.

Only tutoring... it's only tutoring... Haley kept telling herself. Sure, he made some 'Green Day' reference and sure he smiled at her, but what could that mean? That they were friends? Riiight, Haley told herself, you keep thinking that now! So if it's only tutoring, why was she spending so long in front of the mirror before the after school tutoring session? She felt so foolish. There was no way Nathan could see her as anything other than a tutor.

Haley sighed and stopped figiting with her shirt as she exited the girl's bathroom and walked to the Tutoring Center. She was happy to see that Nathan was sitting at one of the empty tables. She had half-expected him not to show up.

"Hi," she said, taking a seat accross from him.

"Hey," He answered taking out his books. There was something about this girl... this Haley James... She didn't act weird around him. OK, so they barely knew each other, but when he approached her this morning, she didn't seem intimitated or anything. Most people just groveled at him and did whatever he asked but she had acted... normal to him. And that meant a lot to him.

"OK, what classes do you need help in?" Haley asked. When she looked at the guy sitting accross from her somehow she didn't see the 'Nathan Scott'. THE Nathan that everyone knew his by. Just looking at him, he had the sweetest eyes and the most irresistable smirk. For a little while Haley completely forgot that there was an inner badboy in him.

"Uh... try all of them." Nathan said laughing a little. And saying that he actualy felt... NO! Embarrassed? Here he was sitting accross from the smartest girl in the grade practicaly and he was barely getting a C- average. Still, embarrassment was not a feeling that Nathan was very familiar with.

Haley laughed along with him a little. But she wasn't laughing AT him. "OK, well we should probably meet often then."

"I guess so." Nathan said. Wow, in the next couple weeks, maybe months he would be seeing a lot of this girl. He studied her. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony-tail (like it always was) and her face was make-up free, but it didn't look bad. Nathan tried to imagine her with her hair down. It would make her look way less preppy, he thought. "You know, you should wear your hair down more often." Nathan said.

Haley was taken aback. That came out of no where! She never wore he hair down... not in public. It was wavy and she didn't like it because she could never control it. She didn't like things to be out of control.

Nathan noticed her expression and said, "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or something. I just think that that would look more... I don't know... laid back?" Haley relaxed a little. Nathan was definitaly not what she expected. He was actualy NICE. She started to totally forget that they were there for tutoring. She wanted to know more about the real Nathan Scott, not what his reputation made him out to be.

"Oh, ya I don't know... I like it up." Haley said, "Can I aske you kind of a personal question?"

"Uh... well, you can ask. I might not answer." Nathan said. Haley nodded, did she dare ask this? She hoped she wouldn't offend him by saying it. But, what the hell?

"Why do you, you know? Smoke pot and drink and all that?" Haley asked. She wasn't sure if he actualy did those things, but it's what she had heard. And she didn't really doubt it.

"I don't know... I guess..." Nathan tried to find the words. He knew that other people just did those things just for something to do, but it was different for him. "Sometimes I just need to escape. You know? Take a break from reality..." Wow, Nathan had never opened up to someone like that. Just the fact that Haley had the guts to actualy ask a question like that kind of made him want to tell her the truth. Haley nodded. "What made you ask me that?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know. I've never done that stuff, and I've never really felt like it. I just wondered what made people do it." Haley said. How had they started talking about this? They came in for a tutoring session and now they were talking about drugs and booze? She didn't know what had possesed her to start that sort of conversation. But she liked talking to Nathan about real things, and she could tell that he was being honest with her. Nathan also was utterly shocked. He expected Haley to scold him or something for doing those things. He knew as well as she did that it was wrong, but it seemed like Haley actualy understood why he did them. She didn't take him for some druggie or alcoholic. "Do you mind if I ask you: what exactly is so bad in reality that you need to take a break from? I mean, you're popular, you have so many friends. Your life doesn't seem all that bad." Haley said, knowing that she was kind of pushing it by saying that, but she was really curious.

Nathan would normaly have gotten mad at a comment like that. What did she know about his life? But the way she said it... as if popularity and having so many so-called friends in his life was that important. He could tell that Haley was sort of jealous of the attention he got at school. "You know, it's weird that at school I'm popular and have a lot of people always around me and then at home I'm all alone." Now that just flew out of his mouth. He never talked about home to other people. He was a little ashamed of being poor. He knew it was nothing to be ashamed of, but he couldn't really help it. "Besides, all my "friends" here..." he said, using air quotes, "Well... let's just say that the most meaningful conversation I've ever had with someone at Tree Hill High, was right now with you." He said, honestly meaning every word. Haley looked down, blushing kind of. But it was true. They connected some how, and she was really surprised at how much he opened up to her.

_AN: OK, well that probably was kinda boring but it will get more interesting i promise! It was just kinda boring cuz i had to set up the plot and all that! But there is more interesing stuff ahead i swear! I still hope u guys liked it and will stick around for the rest! oh and BTW, Lucas and NAthan aren't related. Although Lucas probably won't be in this fic much. It's mainly just Nathan and Haley._

_please REVIEW! THX!_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Hi, I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I was overwhelmed by the number of reviews I got, and I'm so thankful that people are enjoying this fic. It's actually all written, I wrote it a while ago and it was posted on another board, but I decided to post it here too. Thank you to:_

**lilmonkeygirl31, jeyton4ever, Doveangel1213, OTHFAN23V, stars,**

**Naley is L.O.V.E.:**_ yeah I definitely get what you mean about Haley doing drugs or something. I try not to make Haley do anything she wouldn't do on the show or that doesn't fit with her character in this story. I hope you like it!_

**Cadi Cay**_: I won't abandon this story, don't worry, it's actually already all written so it's just a matter of remembering to post it. I don't think I'll forget. I'm sorry if the first chapter was a bit rushed, I'm obviously still learning as a writer. Thanks!_

**DuCksRVeRykOol**_: I love your username, btw. lol. Yeah, sorry, first chapters all always boring for me, but now that the story is basically set up, there will be stuff happening, don't worry._

**Chapter 2**

A few days had passed and Nathan and Haley kept meeting after school everyday. And over the corse of those days, they sort of... grew on each other. They ended up talking more about other things than actualy working. They talked about all sorts of things. Nothing like what they had talked about that first day, but just their interests. It turned out that they were quite opposites. As they already knew, both of them liked Greenday, but other than that Nathan was more the hard rock or rap type and Haley the more mellow stuff. She just liked the political aspect of Greenday's music. They were two people, pretty much completely opposite, yet with much to talk about.

Over these few days, Haley had developed... feelings... for Nathan. She couldn't even remember _ever_ having a crush on a guy. It was all weird to her, but it did make sense. Because although they had only known each other for a few days, they really connected. She knew she could not be the only one noticing this...

Nathan tried to concentrate on the problem infront of him... he really was trying. He wanted to get it right. But not so that he could feel good about solving a problem, so that he could see the look on Haley's face when he did it right. She had that cute smile and she got all excited and proud of him and he thought it was adorable. He hadn't even told his best friends about his feelings for Haley. He didn't think they would understand. I mean, you couldn't find anyone more different from him than Haley James. So as far as his friends knew, what was going on after school between them was strictly tutoring. And maybe that's all it actually was.

I mean, it didn't seem like boys played a big part in Haley's life. Nathan always tried to flirt with her and all but she obveously wasn't very flirtatious back. He knew she wasn't really the type to bat her eyelashes and get all ditzy on him, and that was mostly what he liked about her. Although Nathan got a ton of offers from all the bimbos that when to their school, unlike what you'd expect from a guy like him, he wasn't the one night stand type. He had dated Peyton and it was a real relationship. Okay, so they were totally wrong for each other, but the point was that Nathan was infact the boyfriend type. He liked the idea of having a girlfriend. And he could easily imagine Haley as his girlfriend. But what would his friends say? They didn't even know that Haley was his friend. Was she even his friend?

Nathan wasn't able to think straight, so he just scribbled some random number on his paper and gave it to Haley. Haley looked at it, made a face, and gave it back to him.

"Nathan, if that's the best you can do, than I don't think I like you anymore." Oh my gosh, what did I just say? Haley thought. "I mean... I didn't mean... Oh, God." Haley turned bright red and hid her face behind her hands.

Nathan was surprised. If she hadn't started stuttering and getting all embarrassed he probably wouldn't have thought anything of her comment, but now... Nathan couldn't help but laugh at Haley. She was just so adorable when she was embarrassed. And he couldn't help feeling great about himself... even if there was only like one chance in a million that she actualy meant she _liked_ him. He just flashed her his Nathan Scott smirk, brushing it off.

Nathan jumped on the computer once he got home. He wasn't sure if Haley liked him the way he maybe liked her, but he wanted to take a chance. And he knew just the thing to get her to agree to go out with him. Of course there was still the issue of his friends? He was just holding it off untill the last minute but he knew that once his friends met Haley, they would like her. That is, if Haley let them in the way she let Nathan in.

Haley couldn't help think that all this was so odd. It was like: during school, they were total strangers and didn't even say a word to each other, but once they walked through the door to the tutoring center, they were good friends and just talked and talked about... anything at all really. They were complete strangers yet they knew so much about each other. Sure, Haley loved spending time with him, but not just for one hour everyday for tutoring. When would they stop hiding? _God, it sounds like we're secret lovers_, Haley told herself,_ this is ridiculous_. Maybe she was just making a big deal about this. At this point they had barely even become friends.

_AN: OK I know that wasn't too interesting and not much happened and it was kind of short, but I'm setting it up for stuff to happen next time! I promise! Actually this chapter was pretty short, and I'm not that happy w/ it, i dunno, but I'll post the third chapter also so you guys can have that too._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Nathan stared at his computer screen and more specificaly the little box on it. In it read "Are you sure you want to make this purchase?" And underneath it were two choices: Yes and No. What am I doing, Nathan asked himself? He moved the mouse over to the 'No' choice, but didn't click. This would cost him that weeks pay from his job. But then again... He really wanted it and wanted to see Haley's reaction when he showed her. He moved the mouse to the 'Yes' choice and clicked before he could change his mind.

"You're purchase has been made. We will send you an e-mail to verify that it went smoothly. Thank you." Nathan read this over and over on his computer screen. He knew he wouldn't regret this.

It was Thursday and last period. Nathan and Haley had a tutoring session after school. When the bell rang for the end of school, Haley got out of class, stopped by her locker to get the books she needed and then headed for the tutoring session. Normaly Nathan would be there already waiting for her, but today he wasn't. Haley figured that he was probably held up in class or something and she took a seat at their usual table and waited.

Twenty minutes later, Haley started to worry. Nathan still hadn't arrived in the tutoring center and this was so unlike him. Maybe he had been absent that day or something? She figured she should go see Principle Turner and ask him.

Haley knocked on his door, just before it opened. Haley was surprised to see none other than Nathan walk out of there with a cut on his cheek. Haley gasped.

"What happened to you?" She said fighting the urge to put her hand to his cheek. Before Nathan could answer for himself, Mr. Turner showed up.

"Nathan here, got into a fight, Ms. James." Mr. Turner said. Haley couldn't believe it, but she was actualy surprised by hearing this. Spending time with Nathan and having fun and him being nice to her, made her completely forget who he was? That he was exactly the type to get into fights at school.

"Oh," Haley didn't know what to say. She knew Nathan was that type but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed in him. "Well, we still have forty minutes left for tutoring if you want." She said to Nathan, but once again, Mr. Turner answered for him.

"Yes, that would be great. Thank you Haley." Haley just nodded and left the office, Nathan following her. Nathan and Haley walked back to the tutoring center in complete silence. Haley wanted to say something but didn't know what to say and same with Nathan. Once they sat down at the table, Haley decided to be the first to talk.

"Nathan, what happened?"

"Look, I know you're probably disappointed in me and all, but I actualy did have a good reason for fighting, not that I always do, but this time I do." Nathan said and Haley nodded for him to continue. "This guy, Jared Gabriel, he was being an ass to me for no reason. So I just shoved him to get out of my face and then he kind of went at it so... I fought him back." Nathan explained.

"You were fighting Jared Gabriel? Wow, he is an ass." Haley didn't really know him that well, but he was in her English class and he seemed so smug and annoying. She didn't see why everyone thought he was so great. It was obveous that he was jealous of Nathan's popularity. Haley, who was completely anti-violence, could actualy see why someone would want to fight with him.

"Yeah. And of course, the teachers had to come right when I was tackling him, so now I'm the one with the punishment." Nathan said. He was obveously still pissed off by this.

"What's your punishment?" Haley asked.

"A week without basketball. Which means that I miss the game of Friday. But I guess that also means that I won't have practice tonight, so we can make our tutoring session an hour long after all. It'll just end a little later. Sorry you had to wait, by the way." Nathan said.

"Oh that's OK. I think I had it better than you did." She said, pointing to his cut. "You know, you should really clean that up."

"Yeah, Okay. I'll just go to the bathroom to do it-"Nathan said.

"No no no." Haley interupted him. "We've waisted enough time already. Here, " Haley said, handing him the math textbook. "Go over some problems. I'll be right back." Haley said.

A few minutes later, Haley came back into the room with a First Aid Kit. Nathan watched her take out the bottle of rubbing alcohol and poor some on a cotton ball. She brought it up to his cheek.

"Ow." Nathan said, remarking about the stinging feeling. But it was actualy kind of nice. Having Haley take care of him like that.

"Ooooh, so tough-guy Nathan Scott, is not so tough after all!" Haley teased. She couldn't believe she was actualy doing this. HER? Flirting with Nathan? It was so weird... but she kind of liked it.

Nathan laughed. "Hey! I'm tough enough to get this cut in the first place." Nathan said trying to defend himself.

"Well, I hope Jared Gabriel is more beat-up than you are."

"Hell Yeah!" Nathan yelled a little too loud. He was getting carried away. Some other people in there shushed him. "Sorry," He whispered. Who would think that people were actualy studying and tutoring in here?

Haley laughed at him. She was finishing up taking care of his face. She placed a band-aid on his cheek. "There," She said, trying not to laugh at how stupid he looked like that.

"What? It looks that bad...?" Nathan said.

"No!" Haley said still laughing, "You look like... Nelly?" Haley said taking her hand away from his face but staying in front of him. She stopped laughing. Their closeness was making her nervous but she didn't want to more. There faces were litteraly just a couple inches apart.

Oh, what Haley would have given, just to kiss him right then and there. All the other people in the tutoring center just dissapeared to Nathan and Haley. Nathan slowly leaned his face closer to hers. And now there lips were litteraly just an inch apart.

This is it, Nathan told himself, go for it! And right when he was about to kiss her...

Haley made the mistake of looking up for just a second and she noticed the clock on the wall and stood up abruptly. "Oh my gosh! It's already six?" She hated doing that but she needed to. Her parents were expecting her home at five-thirty.

Nathan closed his eyes and sighed. He was THAT close. He cursed himself for taking so long and watched Haley gather up her stuff quickly and mutter things about being sorry for cutting their session short and that she'd see him tomorrow and then she ran out the door.

_Man_, he thought, _they hadn't even gotten any tutoring done!_

_AN: OK I hope you liked it! Please Review it would mean so much to me! thx a bunch! This one wasn't too long either, but with both this chapter and chapter 2 at the same time, it makes a pretty long update! thanks for reading! I appreciate your feedback! _

_NEXT:_

_You'll find out what Nathan was buying online._

_You get to meet Haley's parents and maybe Nathan's mom._

_Will Nathan or Haley mention their almost-kiss?_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! THX to: Naley is L.O.V.E, jeyton4ever, OTHFAN23V, stars, Nathanlvr, and beachiegal. You guys are awesome, I really appreciate the super sweet reviews I've been getting!**

Chapter 4

Haley had ran all the way home, since she had missed her bus, and once she got through that front door to her house she was out of breath. Why couldn't her parents get her a car? They sure had enough money! Well, they had bought her a car. When she was 13! But believe it or not, she wasn't allowed to drive it to school. Yeah, they thought it was too 'dangerous'!

She slammed the door and turned around just to see two dozen business men in their finest suits staring at her. Oh crap, she thought. He father was with the other men but he didn't say anything, he just motioned for her to go upstairs. Haley didn't say anything, she just walked up the two flights of stairs to get to her room.

As soon as she got inside, she changed into a long red skirt and a nice blouse. She took the hair elastic out of her hair and let her hair fall on her shoulders. Nathan had once told her that she should wear her hair down more often. It was ridiculous. She had always worn her hair up, ever since she could remember. Down, it was all messy and all over the place. It just wasn't her. But then again...

As Haley looked at her reflection in the mirror, it did not look too bad. She quickly shook her head and erased those thoughts from her head. She wasn't going to change one of her habits because of something some boy said. OK, so he wasn't just 'some boy'. But whatever... She quickly put her hair back up into a tight poneytail, brushed some blush on her cheeks and walked back down both flights of stairs.

xXxXxXx

When Nathan got home, he immediately went online to check his e-mail. It said that he did infact, have one new e-mail. He nervously opened it and began reading.

**Dear Mr. Scott,**

**We are sorry to inform you that the credit card number you submited was not valid. You're purchase for two tickets to Green Day at the Tree Hill Arena has now been canceled.**

What? thought Nathan. Since when did his credit card not work anymore? He had earned all that money from his job! And just like that, with one e-mail, his whole plan was dimolished.

Nathan walked out of his room and into the kitchen where he found his mom reading the news paper.

"Mom, do you have any idea why my credit card wouldn't come through?" Nathan asked, as he sad down at the kitchen table next to her.

"Oh, Nathan. I'm so sorry, hunny. But our landlord wanted the rent early this month and I haven't gotten my paycheck yet." Deb said, looking apologetic. Nathan sighed. This wasn't the first time that this had happened. Deb would use his money that he had earned to pay the rent, or the bills, or whatever else they needed. But lately this had been happening a lot more than usual.

"It's Okay, mom. Just tell be before, Okay?" Nathan said and Deb nodded. "And tell me the truth. Did you not get your paycheck yet, or did you lose your job?" Nathan said. He didn't want his own mother to be lying to him.

"Nathan, I swear. First thing tomorrow, I am going out to look for a new job." Deb said. Nathan sighed again and got up.

"Mom, do you remember why I had to get a job when I was fourteen? We said that we couldn't just live off of your money and we can't just liv off of mine! We said we were in this together remember?" Nathan loved his mother very much but this was just too much. They were already struggling when she had her job, but now, if they were going to live off of the minimum wage that Nathan was getting, it would never work. Nathan really felt the urge to break something, anything right now, just to get his anger out. But he calmed down before it got that far.

"I know, Nathan. I'm sorry. But we'll make it. I promise. This, all this: the struggling to pay bills and rent, and the having to take the bus everywhere and you having to work all the time and everyone treating us like some charity cases! I promise, it's all only temporary!" Deb said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Nathan said as he walked out the door. He just needed to get some air and clear his head.

xXxXxXx

"Hi mother," Haley said as she ran into her mom in the kitchen. Of course, her mother couldn't be in the other room with the men. She had to be the perfect, housewife spending her life in the kitchen!

"Haley James, where have you been? I specificaly told you to be here at five-thirty. The party started at six and now it's six-ten." Lydia said looking at her watch. Haley sighed. Most mothers would say 'I've been worried sick' or 'why didn't you call?'. But now Lydia James. No, all she cared about was if Haley was there on time for the party.

"I know, mom, I'm sorry. I got caught up with tutoring. We kind of lost track of time," Haley said.

"Oh, well very well. Who are you tutoring, these days? Is it still that nice boy, Jared Gabriel? His father is actualy here for the party right now, why don't you say hi-"

"No, mother," Haley interupted, "It's Nathan Scott. That's who I'm tutoring." Lydia's smiled droped and she became very serious.

"Haley, I want you to be careful with that boy. I don't want you tutoring him. You know, I've heard things from the other mothers. That boy is a bad influence, Haley!" Lydia said. Haley was surprised, although she really should have seen that coming.

"You don't even know him!" Haley blurted out, before she could even think. What was she doing? She never yelled at anyone, let alone her mother! She didn't even throw tantrums when she was a little girl. What had gotten over her. Before her or her mother could say anything else, Haley exited the kitchen and walked out the front door. She didn't feel like arguing with her mother or making small talk with boring business men. She just needed some air and to relax.

xXxXxXx

**AN: I hope you liked it! Please Review! Thx sooo much! **

**NEXT:**

**Naley meet while they're both 'getting some air'.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thanks to: stars, and Nathanlvr (yeah, I'm sorry for all the confusion, I took out the chapter that was out of order, and here it is now, in order. thanks for replying!)**

**Chapter 5**

Haley was fuming when she was rushing down the front steps of her house. She never got mad that way. She couldn't even remember having tantrums as a kid. From the second she was old enough, it was uncomfortable dresses, curtsies, and fancy dinners for life. And she had never complained, never argued. But for some reason, when Nathan came up, she became very defensive. It's not like they were secret lovers or anything, but he was a great guy, at least when he was with her. He was different than people saw him as. And Haley knew what it was like to be a stereotype and she didn't know many people that truely understood what it was like.

Haley suddenly pulled out the hair elastic from her hair, letting her loose curls fall on her shoulders. Finaly free, she thought. She actualy injoyed the way the wind blew in her hair. It felt really new, but in a good, liberating way.

She was walking, walking. But where? Her mind was too busy to think about that, so her feet did all the work. And they brought her to her favorite place on Earth. The place she went when she wanted to be alone. It was the only place were she could forget about everything. This place was a small park called Echo Park. She sat down on the grass under a tree and just looked around.

She saw all sorts of little kids playing around and she couldn't help wonder why she couldn't have had that. A REAL childhood. She never played around in the dirt, or, believe it or not, went to a sleep-over.

xXxXxXx

Nathan was walking along the streets of Tree Hill trying to clear his head. Since when did he have to take care of him and his mother? They had made a pact to be in this together, but it didn't really seem like it.

He needed to do something. He didn't know what, but SOMETHING. Not just walk around like an idiot. He didn't care what he did anymore. It didn't matter. He was just tired of how his life was. What did it matter anymore? It didn't...

xXxXxXx

It had been over an hour and Haley was still sitting in the same spot just admiring everything. She didn't feel like going home any time soon, but she knew she had to. She was thinking about earlier that day. In the Tutoring Center with Nathan.

If she hadn't noticed the time... If she hadn't averted her eyes and seen the clock. Would they have...? Would her and Nathan have... _kissed_? Was her memory a little fusy, or did it actualy seem like they had had a moment. You know, one of those moments where you know what's coming next, you're just waiting for someone to make the next move. She wouldn't have minded... kissing him. But Haley wondered: will they ever have another moment?

She was woken from her thought, when she saw a familiar looking figure running towards the park. Nathan? It sure looked like him. He hadn't noticed her yet, but he was bound to soon since he was running in her direction. He kept on looking behind his shoulder as if someone were chasing him or something, but no one was.

Then he saw her. But he kept running towards her. That's a good sign, Haley thought. She knew that they had gotten along but they had never actualy hung out outside of school and she was a little afraid that if he would see her outside of school he would just run in the other direction. But he wasn't.

"Hey," Nathan said once he got to where she was. He was really out of breath. "What're you doing here?"

"Long story," Haley said, not wanting to go into details. She knew that she could talk to Nathan, but she didn't know if she was ready to tell people, even him, about her family issues. "What're you doing here?" She asked.

"Uh... Family problems..." Nathan said. He knew he could trust Haley and if he were to tell anyone about his mom's problems then it would be Haley, but he didn't want to take the risk of her thinking less of him because he wasn't exactly rich.

"Yeah, same," Haley said.

"What, trouble at the James's mansion?" Nathan said sarcasticaly, laughing a little. But Haley wasn't amused. She thought that maybe Nathan would be different. It's not like just because she had money, that would solve all her problems!

Haley glared at him. "You don't know anything about my family, Nathan! I know what people think of me as, Okay? But maybe there's more to me than people see," Haley said.

Nathan immediately felt bad for what he said. He didn't mean to insult her. "Look Hales, I'm sorry," He said, making Haley's heart jump at him calling her 'Hales'. "I know what it's like to be stereotyped." He said.

"Yeah, but it's one thing to be typecasted as the popularity king, and another to be the rich, stuck-up, smart girl!" Haley said. What was with her today? Normaly she never snapped at people. But today Haley was acting strange and she was really surprising herself.

"I'll make you a deal," Nathan said and Haley looked at him, "I won't judge you for being rich if you don't judge me for being popular." He said.

"Deal," Haley said, smiling. She had never felt so comfortable with anyone else before. It was weird that just a second ago, she thought he was just like everyone else, but it turns out that he was really special.

"Hey, I just noticed something." Nathan said. "You're wearing your hair down." He smiled. She looked really beautiful like that.

"Yeah," Haley said, blushing and looking down in embarrassment.

"It looks good," Nathan said honestly. He wanted to say 'sexy' instead of 'good' but he decided agianst it. She was so gorgeous and she was right there infront of him. He couldn't take it anymore. He was crushing hard for this girl. It wasn't often that you found a good-looking girl, that you also connected with. And why waste more time dancing around this? He wanted her and he knew that it was too strong a feeling for him to be the only one feeling it. He cuped her face in his hand and made her look at him.

She looked directly into his eyes and into his soul. His blue eyes were mesmerizing to her and she felt her heart get light as he leaned in closer...

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK, next chapter will be up in like 5 minutes, so probably while your reading this, it will be up! I hope I was able to fix everything I screwed up! I hope you guys liked it! review please! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

There lips were now an inch apart and Nathan wanted so badly just to get rid of the space between them. He wasn't going to let them get interupted this time. They eyes were locked and they were barely breathing. It's going to happen, they both thought, finaly.

As Nathan was about to go the whole distance, Haley's cell phone rang. But she didn't lose eye contact with him. Neither of them moved. Haley finaly lowered her eyes and looked around for her cell phone in her pocket. It must be her parents, she thought. Right when her hand hit the solid plastic that was her cell phone, which was still ringing, Nathan spoke.

"Ignore it," Nathan said confidently. Haley looked up at him and she was lost in his beautiful baby-blues. Before anything else could be said or done, Nathan quickly leaned in and kissed Haley. Everything Nathan and Haley had been feeling for each other suddenly leaked out in their passionate kiss. Haley could feel Nathan's need to be close to Haley in that kiss, and Nathan could feel Haley's passion for Nathan in it aswell. It was perfect. They both thought they could never look back to this moment and not feel their heart leap and a smile creep on their face.

Haley couldn't help but smile even as they were kissing but Nathan could keep a straight face and just kept kissing her, not ready to let go. His arms were firmly around her slim waist and hers were around his neck.

When the need for air became too much, they pulled apart but still stayed just a couple inches apart. They were breathing heavily, catching their breath. Haley's heart was still racing and so was Nathan's. A million questions were running through Haley's mind, but she didn't feel like asking them right now. Infact, she didn't even really feel like talking that much. She just wanted to feel Nathan's lips on hers again. So when Nathan was about to say something, she put her hand to his lips to stop him. He just looked at her, surprised of her taking charge. And then she took off her hand and replaced it with her mouth, kissing Nathan hard on the lips.

xXxXxXx

Somehow, they had made it over to a bench, without parting. And after a couple minutes of only stoping when it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, they parted and relaxed a little. They were breathing heavily next to each other on the bench and were looking straight out in front of them waiting for the other one to talk.

"Look, Hales, I don't know what you've heard about me and... uh, girls... But I'm not about games and all that. I like you, Hales. And I've been wanting to do that for a long time," Nathan said. He felt like a coward, not looking at her when he said this, but he was actualy afraid of her reaction. But once Haley heard the words she never thought she would be hearing from Nathan Scott, she was relieved.

"Thanks," Haley said. There was a little pause. Then she noticed that she should probably open up to him about her feelings too, since he had just done that for her. "I mean... I like you too." Haley knew she sounded really cheesy, but then she thought: The cheesy couples are usualy the ones to be happy in the end. Just then her cell phone rang once again. She sighed and apologised to Nathan and took her cell phone out to check who was calling and sure enough, it was her parents.

"Hello?" Haley answered, "Yeah, yeah I know," She said getting scared once again of her overpowering parents. "Ok, Ok. Are they still there?" She was talking about the guests of her father's. "Ok, I'll be right there... Yes, I promise... Okay, bye mother." She hung up.

"Do you have to go?" Nathan said, playing with her hair, he loved how she wore it down.

"Yeah, we're having a dinner at my house tonight. Which we do basicaly every night, now that I think about it. But anyways, there are a ton of 'important' business men there to talk to my dad and they need me to have old men tell me how much I look like my mom and then I'm forced to play piano for them." She said, getting up.

"Do you not like playing piano?" He asked wanting to know more about her.

"Are you kidding? I love it. But I don't like having an audience. I know that sounds stupid, but I get too nervous. Which is weird 'cause when I'm alone and I play I just get so relaxed... I don't know if I'm making sense..." Haley told him, embarrassed.

"No, no. I get it." He said, "So, does one person count as an audience?" He smirked.

"Depends on the person," Haley said smiling.

"I'd really like to hear you play sometime," He said honestly. Haley decided to take matters into her own hands for once, so she reached up and kissed him. He eagerly kissed her back. But it couldn't be too long, because she knew she had to go right away so she pulled away, a little to soon if you asked Nathan. And without saying another word Haley ran off smiling ear to ear.

Nathan grined. He had never been so happy with himself. Of course, feelings like that never lasted very long. Nathan's cell phone rang that moment.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Dude, where are you?" It was Tim.

"This place... uh, Echo Park I think it's called. Why?" Nathan asked.

"Oh man. I don't know what you did, but it's a big deal, man! The Gabriel's sent out the police! I don't think they know it's you and hell, I don't even know it's you, but it said: a dark haired teenage boy of about 6'2''. And well, how many guys like that are in Tree Hill, that is practicaly a juvenile delinquant? So, dude, if it's you, get the hell out of there! Go back home, like now! Run, man!" Tim said scared for his best friend.

"Oh, shit, dude! Thanks man," He said and he hung up and he ran like his life depended on it. Infact, in a way it sort of did. Oh, Crap, he thought, for a while there he had forgotten about what he had done before he ran into Haley.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK that's where I leave ya! I was gonna just make it all Naley cuteness fluffy mushy stuff lol, but i decided to add in that last little thing w/ Nathan! hehe. U'll be sure to hear more about that later! I hope you liked it! Your reviews are very appreciated! **

_NEXT:_

_Will Naley talk more about their relationship? Are they bf and gf? Will their friends know?_

_What did Nathan do before runing into Haley?_

_Probably more w/ Haley's family._


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks to: dopeyde, jeyton4ever, stars, OTHFAN23V, Cadi Cay, Naley is L.O.V.E.**

**Chapter 7**

On her way back home, Haley gathered all her hair and put it back up into a ponytail, flattened out her skirt and reaplied lip gloss. Once she got through that door she saw that everything was just as she left it. All the businessmen were still in the living room talking business talk with her father and her mother was still in the kitchen. It really didn't seem like they needed her there at all. So she tried to go up the stairs unnoticed, but she should have known better.

"Haley!" Lydia James called from the kitchen when Haley was half-way up the first flight of stairs. Haley sighed.

"Yes, mom?" She asked, walking back down, knowing what was coming.

"Where have you been, young lady?" Her mother asked.

"I just went for a walk." Haley said.

"Yes, honey, I noticed that." Her mother said and then sighed. "I don't know what's been going on with you lately. But you get home late, you yell at me and then you storm out and you're not back for almost two hours! If this has something to do with that boy..."

"He has a name," Haley said, but more to herself. Now she was too afraid to stand up to her mother. So she just whispered those words.

"What did you say?" Her mother asked.

"Nothing, mom. Look, it's not about Nathan." She said.

"I want you to stay away from that boy. Frances Gabriel just called me and said that she just saw a boy that looked just like him smash her window. He's a dangerous, bad influence, Haley." Haley just remained shocked. Okay, so Nathan had done some rather stupid and well, dangerous things before but he couldn't have done this. She knew it couldn't be him because he was just with her. Her mother appoached her and put her hand to her cheek.

"Oh, honey," She said, trying to sound sympathetic, but Haley knew she wasn't. "Boys like Nathan... Well, I mean... I'm sure he's not all to blame for what he's become. I mean, I've seen her mother around and well, their family isn't doing to well..." She said.

"You mean financialy." Haley said.

"Well... Yes. Look, Haley. Families like the Scott's are just very... different than us. We can't trust them and they probably don't trust us anyway. We are in two seperate worlds. And I know that might seem unfair to you, but that's just how life is. And since you are a James, you are not to hang around that Nathan Scott boy anymore. Are we clear?" Her mother said sternly.

Haley felt all the wonderous feelings she had been feeling just a little bit earlier, fall to pieces. She thought she might throw up. Nathan was the only person that truely understood her. She had such strong feelings for him and she wasn't ready to give them up. On the other hand, she was afraid. Afraid of disagreeing with her mother. Afraid of what her family would do if she continued seeing Nathan. And afraid, that is actualy was Nathan who smashed the Gabriel's window.

"Okay. I'm sorry mom." Haley whispered. She should have known this would happen. Getting involved with Nathan would just mean trouble. And although, some excitement in her life wouldn't kill her, she was still scared of what might happen. So she did was she always did: just slapped on a fake smile, and went along with whatever her parents told her, instead of doing what she really wanted or felt was right.

xXxXxXx

Nathan arrived at his house, out of breath. He couldn't help wanting to punch himself in the face right about now. How could he be so stupid? Now, he couldn't even enjoy thinking about Haley and what just happened between them, because he had to be an idiot and go do idiotic things. When he got home, his mother was still sitting at the kitchen table where she was when he left.

"So, are you still mad at me?" She asked. Nathan thought about this. Sure, he had been mad. But now, he felt so guilty about what he did. If his mother found out she would be so disappointed in him.

"No, mom, I'm not. I think I pretty much got all my anger out while I was out." Nathan said remembering in his mind what he had done right after he left his house earlier that day...

_FLASHBACK_

_Nathan was kicking at the ground as he walked around amelessly around. Without noticing it he had walked all the way to the rich area of Tree Hill. He thought, Haley must live around here somewhere. He really felt like seeing her right now. It would really help with all the anger he had built up inside him. To here her calm voice..._

_From a little far away he saw none other than Jared Gabriel, the guy he had beatten up just earlier. What a jerk. He thought he was so much better than everyone else just because he was rich and his dad owned some huge company. Nathan knew he envied him, but he wouldn't let himself admit it._

_He saw him get out of his band new BMW dressed in chic clothes and with big sunglasses on and his hair slicked back. Nathan couldn't help thinking that this guy looked like an add for some expensive brand. He was exactly the model type. Plus he had everyone wrapped around his finger. Guys like that made Nathan sick. Sure, Haley was probably just as rich as Jared, but somehow it didn't make her egotistical the way it did to others._

_How was it that awful people like the Gabriel's could have so much money and live in so much luxery when Nathan and his mom who aren't such jerks, have to struggle to get around. That sht wasn't fair, thought Nathan. _

_Jared didn't notice Nathan staring at him. He slammed the door to his car so hard. You would think that he would appreciate such a nice expense, but no, he treats it like crap. A tall, blonde, totally fake looking, girl gets out on the passenger's side. She runs over to Jared and flings her arms around him and he doesn't even close his eyes when he kisses her. This disgusted Nathan. Just because this guy was wealthy, he could treat everything like a piece of crap, and still be idolized by so many people. _

_Once Jared and the name-less girl went into the Gabriel's mansion, Nathan got closer. He was breathing heavily. Everything was starting to pile up. Jared got all the money in the world from his parents to do whatever he wanted with, yet Nathan's only parent needed to steal his money to pay the bills! He was sick of it. Of everything and he didn't want to live the way he did anymore. Rich people, they didn't understand how low they make other people feel. I'll show them, Nathan thought. And without even thinking he grabbed a rock and threw it full force at one of their windows, that shattered immediately. Sure, he didn't mean to hurt anyone, he checked before that no one was actualy inside that room. But it was still stupid and he realized that right away. So he ran. He ran as fast as he could... but apparently it wasn't fast enough for Ms. Gabriel to see him and tell the police his description._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK i'm leaving u there. But first, here is a little background on Jared Gabriel (he's the guy that Nathan got in a fight with, remember?): OK, he is rich. His parents are good friends with Haley's parents so Haley and him see each other. But he is VERY egotistical so Haley hates him, but he thinks that Haley is cute, but hasn't really tried anything on her. Nathan's croud (him, Brooke, Peyton, Tim... etc..) don't like him but he is still popular at school.**

**OK so I'm sorry if that was boring or too short, but I wanted u guys to know what Nathan did and also get to know Haley's family a little more so that's what I wrote.**

**NEXT:**

**Naley talk during tutoring session. Will Haley really stop seeing him?**

**OK guys please REPLY! Thx so much!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey Guys! Sorry for not updating sooner, I've been really busy this week. But you should know that I really appreciate your reviews, and I want to thank you so much for them! Thanks to: MB, hello pretty, dopeyde, Jessica, Nathanlvr, beachiegal, JeniRose (I'm so sorry if I have grammatical errors. I really try to read over and eliminate them. If you keep noticing them, then please tell me and I will definitely try harder)**

**Chapter 8**

It was finally Friday. This week was either the best or the worst week in Haley's entire life, depending on how you looked at it. She had started tutoring Nathan. Had had her first crush since the sixth grade. Had kissed him. Had yelled at her parents. And then had promised her mom not to see Nathan anymore. Haley didn't know what to think of this week, until she got to her locker in the morning and saw Nathan right there, waiting for her. And she thought, yeah, this HAS definitely been the best week EVER!

She couldn't help but to smile ear to ear as she walked towards Nathan. Nathan noticed her walking towards her and he smirked. She was so beautiful. She had this air of... innocence. Which Nathan wasn't used to finding very sexy, but in this case, he did.

When Haley got there, she was about to open her mouth and greet him, but he surprised her by kissing her right then and there, before even saying anything. It was pretty short, since there were in the middle of the hallway, but it still made Haley get butterflies in her stomach. When they broke apart Haley smiled and leaned back against the lockers.

She looked over his shoulder to see Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, Tim Smith, Jake Jigelski... Nathan's whole gang just hanging out. They didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that their main man just kissed a 'nobody', which was what she basically was at this school. Nathan could see where she was looking and guessed what she was thinking.

"I told them. And believe it or not, they're happy for me," He said and he gazed into her eyes. "And even if they weren't... It wouldn't change anything." He said sweetly and Haley melted. Nathan wouldn't let his friends get in the way of his and Haley's relationship (not that they WERE in the way) so she shouldn't let her parents to that to her.

Haley swallowed. "My parents are forbidding me to see you." She said looking at the floor. "My mom for some reason thinks you committed some crime yesterday... I don't know." She looked up to find Nathan now looking at the floor, looking a little hurt. "But," Haley said trying to reassure him, "I'm not going to listen to them anymore. We can still be together... We'll just not tell my parents just yet." Haley said hesitantly. She didn't' want it to seem like she was ashamed of Nathan. She was just afraid of what measures her parent's would take to keep her and Nathan apart.

"So, we're together? Are we...? We're dating?" Nathan asked and Haley suddenly blushed. Of course, how could she be so stupid, just to assume that because they kissed then that they were together! She wished she could just erased the things she said. She started fidgeting with the zipper of her jacket.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean... Ok, well I DID mean that... but what I mean NOW is... um," OK, now she was just making an even bigger fool of herself. She looked up at Nathan to find him practically laughing at her. "What is so funny?" she asked getting annoyed.

"Would you like to go out with me tonight?" He asked completely surprising Haley. Haley couldn't help but feel stupid. She was right the first time!

"Yes," she said confidently, now smiling. Just then the bell rang for their first class, which Haley and Nathan did not have together.

"OK, well, I gotta go so... I'll kiss you later," Nathan said smirking as he walked off with his group of friends.

xXxXxXx

Haley squealed as she closed her locker door and walked off in the opposite direction. She saw Lucas down the hall and decided that if Nathan told his friends, than she should tell hers. And since she only really had one friend, it shouldn't be too hard.

"Hey, Luke!" She called out. He turned around. And stopped for her to catch up to where he was.

"Hey," He said. "So, listen I need to tell you something."

"Really? Me too," Haley said. "You go first."

"Ok..." He took a deep breath. This was sort of making Haley nervous. "I've kind of been... kissing Brooke." He said.

"What?" Haley said, relieved that it wasn't anything drastic or anything. "Brooke Davis? You two are together?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you before." He said. "But I actually really like her... She's different then people see." And Haley could tell he was for real.

"I'm glad," She said. "It's true, you shouldn't judge people on first impressions..." This was leading her to her next announcement. But Lucas's made her feel more relaxed. "I'm seeing Nathan. And before you ask: Yes, Nathan SCOTT." She said.

"Oh... Well, it's OK with me. I mean, if you see something in him, than there must be something there." Lucas said.

"There is. Thank you, Luke." Haley said hugging her best friend. She had missed him. She was so caught up with her feelings for Nathan that she had barely seen Lucas this whole week. It was nice that they could still talk.

xXxXxXx

"So how are you an Tutorgirl?" Brooke asked Nathan during 1st period.

"Brooke, she has a name," Nathan said.

"Ok, ok. So how are you and HALEY?" Brooke asked. Nathan smiled at the mention of Haley's name.

"Good," Nathan said, "Really good, actually. How about you and that Lucas kid?" Nathan said.

"Good. So I've been thinking. Now that I've got a boyfriend and you've got a boyfriend and Peyton and Jake seem to be hitting it off, and Tim... well, I'm sure he'll find SOMEONE... We should have a party! I could so have one at my house." Brooke said. Nathan thought about this. It didn't really seem like Haley's thing, but then again, Haley seemed to be in the process of loosening up a little. He figured he could just say yes to the party and ask Haley later if she wanted to go. If she did, then great. If she didn't, then they'd find something else to do.

"Alright. Sounds good," Nathan said.

"OK, so, let's say... Next Friday?" Brooke asked and Nathan nodded.

xXxXxXx

Haley was waiting for Nathan in the tutoring center. It was four o'clock and since she was planing to keep her relationship with Nathan a secret from her parents, she thought that they could just once skip their tutoring session so that she could be back at six as usual and her parents would never suspect a thing.

Then Nathan walked through the door, looking hot as ever, Haley couldn't help but notice. She wanted to shout to the world 'That's my boyfriend!' But she was able to contain herself.

"Ok, so I was thinking... To be able to go out tonight without my parents knowing, we should probably just skip tutoring this afternoon and just go out now and then I can be back by six and my parents will just think I was tutoring some kid the whole time." She said practically all in one breath. She paused to catch her breath but before Nathan could respond she went on. "And it's totally cool that you miss one tutoring session. I mean, you've been making some good progress. OK, so it's only been a week but-"

Nathan shut her up by planting a kiss on her lips. And that did the trick. Haley kissed him back and they had their little moment of heaven right there in the tutoring center. When they broke apart Nathan spoke first.

"Let's go." He said and walked towards the door, Haley following him.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK I'm leaving u there! Sry if it was short but I need to put this in now, cuz I'm scared that my comp will shut down on me again! I'm sooo sorry for the delay! I hope u guys like it! Please REPLY! Thx a bunch!**

**NEXT:**

**Naley's date**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews: OTHlover04, Naley is L.O.V.E, Nathanlvr (no, Haley's parents aren't always gone for business, but they are very high class people, and they host a lot of business dinners, things like that.), MB, stars, and beachiegal! You guys are really nice, thank you so much! This chapter is longer than the others! yay!**

**Chapter 9**

Nathan and Haley decided to just have a mellow, relaxed date. So they decided to just take a walk and walk up to Echo Park, where they had their first kiss and Haley's favorite place in the whole world. There was a light breeze and the way it blew through Haley's hair -which she had let down the moment she got out of her house that morning- made Nathan stare.

"What?" Haley asked, noticing Nathan staring at her.

"You're beautiful. You know that?" Nathan said seriously, gazing into her brown eyes.

Haley looked away, blushed, and laughed a little. "Stop it." She said embarrassed.

"No, seriously," Nathan said smiling at her reaction. "I can't believe some other guy didn't snatch you up before I had the chance to." he said.

"I'm glad they didn't," Haley said truthfuly, "Because then I wouldn't be here with you." Her words made Nathan's heart soar. It was weird for him to be feeling this way. Weird, but good.

Nathan looked around. This park was really beautiful. The trees in all the right places. The grass was the perfect shade of green. There weren't many people, so it was calm. He actualy felt sad that he hadn't noticed it sooner. And he probably wouldn't have noticed it yesterday if Haley hadn't been sitting there. He wouldn have just ran by it.

"How long have you been coming here?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, I used to go here all the time. I found this place when I was, I think ten or so. And I just fell in love with it. So I came here a lot, and just sat under a tree and looked around and thought." Haley said, smiling at the memories. "And then when I was fourteen or so, I just got so busy. That's when I started tutoring and my parent's had be attend all their business diners and events, so I didn't really have the time anymore. I was really happy when I came here yesterday to see that nothing has changed." Haley finished.

Nathan nodded. "Is it really that bad... with your parents?" He said. "I mean, I always dreamed of living in a big house, and not having to worry about expenses. It seems so... I don't know, like you're free to do what you want." He said, making sure to be careful with his choice of words. He didn't want to offend her of anything.

"I don't know. I mean, I used to think that. That it was The Life. It was so great and carefree. But now that I think about it. I really had no idea what being free felt like until yesterday when I got mad at my parents. I felt so relieved that I actualy did have a mind of my own." Haley said. "But then I had to go and take a step back and become my parent's little robot again." Haley sighed.

And for the first time Nathan actualy felt bad for her. He even wondered if he had the better life. At least he knew for sure that his mother loved him and would never treate him less than he was worth.

"But what bugs me the most about them," Haley continued. She needed to get this out, "is that they think that people like you are somehow beneath them. Just because some family isn't as wealthy as us, they think that we're too good for them. But Nathan, you have to know, that I don't share any of those feelings with them. I couldn't disagree with them more! You aren't as wealthy as my family is, yet you are ten times a better person than either of my parents. And that's all I care about." Haley said honestly. She was scared that maybe Nathan felt like he had to act different around her and she needed him not to.

Nathan was touched by what she had just said. He was pretty sure that she wasn't the type of person to just dismiss him because he was poor, but now he was positive. And it felt good, really good, that Haley truely thought he was a good person. Although he wasn't sure himself. He wondered if Haley were to know about him breaking the Gabriel's window, if she would still think that. She really deserved to know, and Nathan knew that. It wasn't fair for her to be saying all this to him, when really, he didn't deserve it.

"Haley, I need to tell you something." Nathan said, when just then he noticed a police car park just accross the street from the park. 'Oh crap' he thought. 'They saw me. They recognised me. This is it, they caught me.'. "Ok, you have to promise me you won't freak out on me?" He said as he watched the two police men get out of the car.

"Nathan, what is it?" Haley said getting a little worried. Nathan put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hales, I'm sorry. You're going to think so much less of me. But you have to understand, I... I was upset. My mind was somewhere else..." The cops were walking towards the park now, and staring straight at Nathan and Haley. Luckily, Haley had her back to them so she didn't notice.

Nathan's heart started racing faster, but he couldn't just run away this time. "I... I had just had a big fight with my mom. We're having a lot of financial problems and I was getting really sick of it. I just thought 'Why can't we just be rich?' you know?" Oh gosh, the cops were getting closer and closer. "So, I was walking by that guy Jared. Jared Gabriel's house... And I saw him, and I was just reminded of how much of and ass he was. And I got really mad. You know I just lost my temper..." The two police men were almost there.

Haley felt like she would die. Just right then and there, just die. She knew where this was going. _He_ was the one who broke their window. He mother was right! And _she_ had defended him! She was so sure that he didn't do it, but he did! How could you be so sure of something and then turn out to be wrong? Haley felt her head getting dizzy.

"You shattered their window, didn't you, Nathan?" Haley whispered and looked into his panic-filled blue eyes.

Nathan took a deep breath. "Yes." He said, just as the police men reached within talking distance of them.

"Please put your hands on your head," One of the cops said. Haley turned around to find the two police men looking at Nathan and not at her, so she just stood there and watched as Nathan did what he was told. 'Oh God,' he thought 'This is it.'

"You have a right to remain silent," The other police officer said as the other one hand-cuffed Nathan. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Haley felt tears stream down her face, but there was nothing she could do.

"I'm sorry, Hales," Nathan muttered as his eyes started to watter as well.

"Nathan..." Was all Haley could say. She was mad at Nathan for breaking the window. She was mad at Mrs. Gabriel for calling the cops. She was mad at Jared for being the ass that he is. She hated her mother for telling her about it. But staring infront of her, she didn't see the Nathan that was the bad boy. The Nathan that commited a crime, the one that her parent's hated. She just saw the Nathan, the one that had been so sweet to her. The one that was all she could think about all week. And right now, all she wanted was to get him out of this mess. But how?

She wanted to follow them to the cop car but her legs couldn't move. She felt so numb, she couldn't believe this was happening to her. She watched as Nathan got dragged away by the two police men. He looked back before entering the backseat of their car and Haley could see a single tear roll down his cheek, and she knew that he never meant to hurt anyone. God, what was her mother going to say when she heard that Nathan Scott got arrested! She would probably say something like 'Well, good. Tree Hill doesn't need kids like him roaming the streets freely.' It made Haley sick.

xXxXxXx

The next day, when Haley got to school, she immeadiately looked for Tim to see if he knew any details on Nathan's arrest. She found him and the rest of the gang all just hanging out in the hall way. She felt weird walking up to them, but when she did she immediatly relaxed after seeing their nice smiles. She didn't even have to ask to get information.

"We don't know how long he's in for," Tim said.

"Yeah, but we're all going there after school to visit him." Peyton said. "So, if you want to come..."

"Actualy, I'd love to. Thanks." Haley said, giving them a warm smile. She didn't know what on earth she was going to say to him when she went to visit him, but even just to see his face... She couldn't wait till school was over.

xXxXxXx

The day passed by so slowly for Haley. But at lunch she actualy hung out with Nathan's whole gang. And it helped that Lucas was there because he's dating Brooke. They were such a nice group of people. They didn't ask her anything about the arrest even though they knew she had been there when it happened. And Haley was thankful for that. She didn't know if she was ready to talk about it yet.

After school, Lucas, Brooke, and Haley rode in Brooke's car to the Juvinile Hall and Jake, Peyton and Tim rode in Peyton's car. The whole group pretty much arrived at the same time.

Even as they were walking up the steps, Haley already got teary-eyed. Just being there to visit him, it made everything so _real_.

When they got in they were disapointed to hear that his visiting hours would end in five minutes so he could only see one person. But they all agreed to let Haley see him. They knew that he would most want to see her and that she would want to see him the most out of the whole gang. Haley muttered a thank you to the whole gang and walked into a room that was seperated in two by basicaly a window and then there were some chairs and a phone on either side. Haley saw Nathan right away. He had bags under his eyes and was wearing the same thing as yesterday, but his eyes lit up when he saw Haley standing there.

Haley took a deap breath and walked over and sat down as the chair accross from him. She grabbed the phone off the hook and so did Nathan on his side.

"Hales," he said, "I'm so sorry. It was stupid. I have never regreted doing something more."

"It's OK, Nathan. We don't need to talk about it. Look, I knew that you did this kind of thing when I agreed to go out with you." Haley said.

"But I don't want to do that stuff anymore. Haley, I really want to be a better person for you." Nathan said, and at that comment a first tear rolled down Haley's cheek.

"I just want to get you out of there, Nathan." Haley said. "I'm going to get you out of there." She said confidently.

"Hales, I don't want you to go out of your way. I have to do this, I have to pay for what I did. They say I might still be here for a couple weeks." He said. Haley kept crying at the thought of having him in there for a couple more weeks. She didn't think she could stand it.

"That's ridiculous! Nate, I've got to do something. You know very well that if it were someone like Jared Gabriel in your place, they would only give him one night in here." Haley said.

"Yeah, I know. But there's nothing I can do. I mean, my mom, you should have seen her face. She was so disapointed. Anyway, I have to stay here as long as they tell me to. My family can barely pay the water-bill, I can't ask my mom to bail me out. And even if I did, she wouldn't be able to." Nathan paused, as a man tapped him on the shoulder and told him something. Nathan nodded. "I have to go. Be strong for me, Hales." He said and he hung up the phone, but kept his eyes locked on hers.

Haley bit her lip and stoped crying, but her cheeks were still stained with the tears she had just shed. She was trying to be strong, she really was. But she was still shaking as she got up out of her seat and walked out the room.

xXxXxX

**AN: OK, that's all for now. A little dramatic... I'll update soon! Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews. Thanks to: lilmonkeygirl131, stars, jeyton4ever, TREEHILLADMIRER, Nathanlvr, and XxXKris10XxX! You guys are amazing. Oh, and I am happy to say that I think the updates from now on will mostly be longer! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

The second Haley heard the 'beep beep' sound of her alarm, she got up. The truth was she had never really fallen asleep. She spend the whole night half-asleep, because everything with Nathan was bothering her. She couldn't help thinking that there she was, in a house for three people, yet with three floors. In a bed that could fit maybe five people. In these nice warm sheets made of imported silk. All this while Nathan was spending the night behind bars in the same cell as drug dealers and future serial killers or something. She didn't know if she was over-reacting or not, but she was sure that she couldn't stand the thought of him spending one more night in juvi.

She got up and pulled on her Victoria's Secret silk robe and walked out. She knew her parents were downstairs, on the first floor because she could here them in the kitchen. Her room was on the third floor and her parent's room was on the second. She walked down one flight of stairs, making no noise so her parent's wouldn't know she was up yet and walked in the direction of their room.

She could tell that her parents were still downstairs but she just got so nervous, looking over her shoulder every few seconds, just in case, as she walked into her parent's bedroom.

She figured the best way to do this was just to get in, and get out. The faster the better. She walked over to where she saw her mother's handbag. She pulled out the wallet from it, with her hand shaking. When she opened it she saw massive amounts of one hundred dollar bills. It was crazy to think that she actually belonged to a family that was wealthy enough to just carry that kind of money everywhere they go, as if it were no big deal. And Haley used to think it was no big deal.

Haley just grabbed a couple random bills, just guessing, having no idea how much money she actually needed for this type of thing.

She quickly slipped the bills in the pocket of her robe and walked out of the room. She got dressed, put the money in her backpack, went down stairs, grabbed a quick breakfast, and then was off to school.

xXxXxXx

It was weird because Haley had only started being friends with Brooke, Peyton, Jake, and Tim very recently, if you could even call it friendship, and yet she couldn't wait to talk to them the second she got to school. Luckily for Haley, they were always hanging out together so she found them all in one group, with Luke too, so she could tell them all at one time.

"I have money to bail Nathan out!" Haley blurted out the second she got there. They had been in the middle of a conversation about the latest Star Wars movie, but stopped dead when the heard Haley utter those words.

"Hello to you too, Tutor Girl." Brooke said, smiling. "And way to go! We'll go over there first thing after school." The truth was, Peyton and Brook had already assumed that she would do this. Her parent's were definitely rich enough not to care, and they could tell that seeing Nathan in jail truly broke Haley's heart.

"Nice, Hales," Lucas said.

"Yeah, Nathan's gonna be so thankful. And so are we. It's really sweet of you, Haley," Peyton said, and Tim and Jake nodded.

Haley smiled to how nice they were being. She knew that they were Nathan's oldest friends and that they really cared about him too.

xXxXxXx

During all her classes Haley was thinking about what to say to Nathan once he got out. She would be so happy to see him, she didn't even know if she would be able to speak. Maybe she should just let him talk first...

What if Nathan took this as an insult? or a charity? Nathan was very proud, maybe he wouldn't let her bail him out?

Or worse: What if he said all that stuff at the jail, all that apologizing, just to use her for bail money. I mean why not? Just use Haley James, make her fall for you, and then just use her for money! What a master plan!

Okay, Haley thought, you can't think like that. Frankly, she was sure that these were all just stories she was making up in her head. She could tell by the look in Nathan's eyes that everything he had said, he meant. Haley wasn't easy with trusting people, so Nathan must be pretty extraordinary for her to trust him after only knowing him for a week. And he really was.

Maybe Haley wasn't scared about him thinking she was insulting him. Maybe Haley didn't think that he was actually using her or that he had been lying this whole time. Maybe she was just scared, because this whole relationship with Nathan might be a little harder than she had expected.

xXxXxXx

After school, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Tim, and Haley all met up at the parking lot. Brooke claimed that her and Peyton and Haley should drive down to the station together, because they were 'in need of some serious girl talk' apparently. So Lucas, Jake and Tim, went together and Brooke, Peyton and Haley did too.

xXxXxXx

"So are you in love with Nate?" Brooke asked Haley the second they got into the car. Haley was shocked at how forward she was. But truthfully, her and Nathan had only been together for a very short time, she had never even asked herself that question. She didn't know what to answer. 'No' would seem too cold. But she wasn't sure if she'd be telling the truth if she said 'Yes'. Not yet, at least.

"Uh.. I don't know..." Haley said, uneasily.

"I'm sorry. It's just, such a romantic movie- like setting. Don't you think?" Brooke said and Peyton and Haley gave her confused looks. "Oh you know, the bad-boy and the smart-girl falling in love... It's a total "A Walk To Remember", just Tree Hill version!" Brooke said.

Peyton laughed, "That is sort of true, now that I think about it," she said.

Haley blushed. She didn't think of herself and Nathan as any movie characters or something. It had nothing to do with him being the 'bad boy' or her being the 'smart girl', it was just that they understood each other and felt at ease with each other.

"But, whatever," Brooke continued, "The point is, you did get the money to bail him out and you weren't mad when he got arrested... That must been that you really care about him." She said.

Haley just thought about this for a little while. She didn't know what to answer to this. She did care about him... a lot. It was just weird talking about it. She had all sorts of feelings for Nathan, kinds that made her heart float, and her stomach jump, and her breath get cut short. She just didn't really know how to explain it all to someone that she barely knew, or even someone she knew well for that matter. She didn't' even talk about this with Luke. She didn't know how people would react if she told them all this.

"Well," Brooke continued talking, since no one else was saying something, "if it helps, I can tell that he really cares about you too." She said and Peyton nodded.

Haley smiled at both of them, "Thanks," She muttered.

"Hey, I don't know if Nathan had time to tell you but," Brooke said, "There's going to be a party at my house on Friday."

"Oh, no, he didn't tell me yet." Haley said. A party. It sounded so weird, but Haley had actually never really been to one since she was maybe twelve. Obviously this was a different kind of party. One: because it was a high-school party. and Two: Because it was Brooke Davis's party. She had only heard good things about them. And sure Haley was fitting into Nathan's crowd pretty well, and she did have a feeling in her gut that really wanted to go to this party just to see what it was like. All these years of wanting to see what it was like, and now she finally could.

But she was also scared. She didn't know what to do at parties. She didn't know how the other kids would react to her being there. She didn't know a lot of things. But in the end, she decided to go with her gut instinct. Plus she knew Nathan would want to go, and as long as he was there, she would be happy.

"Yeah, a party sounds fun." Haley said.

"Perfect!" Brooke said, as they parked in front of the station. "Me with Lucas, Peyton with Jake," She said nudging Peyton. "You and Nathan... It'll be great!"

They parked the car and all got out, Haley starting to feel nervous, but also really excited to finally see Nathan again and to get him out of this place.

xXxXxXx

Haley did all she had to do. She talked to the police guard, gave them the money they needed, signed the papers. The whole works. And it was another half an hour until they got Nathan out. They still had to go over a few things with him and all that.

The whole gang was all silent in the waiting room, all eyes on the door, just waiting for Nathan to walk through them. Haley was very proud of herself, getting Nathan out of jail and all. She had just spend over twenty-four hours with out Nathan, but just these last thirty minutes before she could see him were killing her.

Finally they saw Nathan, still in the same clothes as when he got arrested, his hair messed up, bags under his eyes, walk through that door. His eyes immediately landed on Haley, the girl that had kept him awake the whole night he spend there, just thinking about her. About how he let her down.

Haley impulsively jumped up and ran to him, flinging her arms around him and pulling him in for a tight hug. His arms were firmly around her waist and he felt her relax against him. He was just so happy. He had had dreams where she was mad at him and wouldn't even speak to him. He never wanted to let go...

But eventually, they had to let go of each other, and Haley just stood to the side and watched everyone hug Nathan in turn, even Lucas.

xXxXxXx

Once they were outside, they were trying to figure out the car arrangements.

"Um, you know what. I think I'm just going to walk home," Haley said, looking at Nathan, giving him a hinting look.

"Oh, yeah, I'll walk you," He said.

"Oh, I'll go too! I don't want to be left with the two couples!" Tim said starting to walk in the direction Nathan and Haley were going in, but Brooke grabbed him by his shirt to stop him.

"I don't think so, Tim." She said and everyone laughed.

xXxXxXx

"Hales, I don't know how I can thank you enough." Nathan said for about the millionth time since they had started their walk.

"Nathan I told you, I did it for me. I couldn't stand you spending any more time in there. It just made me sick thinking about it. That's why I bailed you out," Haley said.

"Still, I really appreciate it. And I have to tell you, that I promise, from now on things will be different. No more sneaking around and vandalizing people's houses, I swear," He said. And Haley smiled at how cute he was being. It was weird how he had this whole bad-boy image, but he was really just a softy on the inside.

"OK," Haley said, "I'm just glad you're back." She said as they got to a place with perfectly placed trees and bright green grass: Echo Park. It was kind of their special little place now. Haley loved that. How they had 'a spot'. It was like their own little corner of the universe, where there it was just them, and they could just be together.

Nathan couldn't stand it anymore. He had spend the last twenty-four hours thinking about nothing but Haley. And he wanted her so bad. He pulled her towards him and lowered his lips to hers. All the affection and wanting that had built up inside both of them for the last day was all expressed in this sensual, mind-blowing kiss. And this time, with no one else around, they held on to each other for much longer, neither of them wanting to face the real world, just wanting to stay in their little corner of the universe, in each other's arms, and in peace.

_AN:I really hope u guys liked it! Please Review! Thx!_

_Next:_

_The party!_


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Thank you for the wonderful reviews: TREEHILLADMIRER, jbacon, southerncoffeeaddict, OTHlover04, beachiegal, crazy4fiction, and Nathanlvr!**

_OK, here is the next chapter. Oh and the part in italics, is a flashback. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 11**

After Nathan and Haley said their good-byes, Nathan left, but it was only five o'clock, so Haley decided to stay a little at Echo Park. She wasn't ready to go home yet. By now, her parents must have heard about Nathan's arrest, considering how fast the gossip circulated in Tree Hill. She just hoped that somehow, the fact that she was the one to bail him out would be kept from her parents and their nosy friends.

Haley felt someone tap on her shoulder, and for a second she thought that it might even be Nathan, but she thought too fast. And she was disappointed when she turned around, to see the last person she wanted to talk to right now, other than her parents: Jared Gabriel. The guy who she used to think was cute, until he revealed his jerky personality and spoiled side.

Haley tried to remember the last time they had talked. It was at one of the many fancy gatherings his father was holding at his house. She had been making the rounds like her parents always told her to do, talking to all their friends, stopping by to say 'hi' to all her father's business associates. Then there he was, in the corner, in an expensive-looking suite, talking on his cell phone…

xXxXxXx

"… _Nah, I gotta stay here tonight… Yeah another one of my dad's kiss-ass parties… It sucks…Hey, I gotta go. Talk to you later, man." Jared hung up the phone the second he laid eyes on Haley. He recognized her, not just from these weekly big business dinners, but from somewhere else. She must go to Tree Hill High, he thought._

_Haley knew who he was: Jared Gabriel. Everyone knew who he was. That spiky blonde hair, the designer sun glasses that he wore even inside. He was pretty good-looking, that was, until he opened his smart-ass mouth of his._

"_Don't I know you?" He asked with a grin._

"_Haley James." Haley said, extending her hand. She was always like this. Polite, composed. She didn't think she had ever said a come-back, let alone a witty one, in her whole life. _

_Jared took her hand but instead of shaking it, he just held on to it and wouldn't let go. "Do you go to Tree Hill High?" He asked, still not letting go. Haley started to get a little weirded out by this guy._

"_Yeah," Haley said, plain and simple. This guy should really know her, she thought. She did see him at all these dinners and events and they did go to the same school. But no, this guy was so wrapped up in himself that he barely noticed others._

"_Now, that's weird…" He said, and Haley couldn't help but tug a little to try to get her hand back, but failing. "'Cause I know I would have remembered a beautiful girl like you." Ah, never heard that line before, Haley thought sarcastically. But she would never say something like that aloud. Especially not to a Gabriel._

_Haley really didn't know what to say, so she just stayed silent._

_"Tell you what..." Jared started. "Why don't we get out of here? I know a bar downtown. You got a fake ID?"_

_"No," Haley said simply, she was not at all interested in that. It didn't really bother her that others would get drunk, have meaningless sex with some stranger, and then wake up in the back seat of a random car with killer hang-over, that was their problem, it just wasn't her thing. But she didn't say all that, and she had no idea why not._

_"Oh, well that's not a problem, I can get you one." Jared said._

_"No thank you," Haley said, not wanted to, but ending up having to pull her hand out of his grip with full force._

_"Oh, I get it. You're one of THOSE kind of girls..." He said, smiling._

_"And what is that suppose to mean?" Haley said, getting annoyed with this guy. Who did he think he was anyway? But if she really was mad at him, he wouldn't have been able to tell, since she kept her polite voice._

_"It means you're actually one of those girls. Look, I know what your parents are like, probably the same as mine. They want to control you, drag you to all these boring events, never let you out of the house with a skirt that goes above your knees incase you might give a bad impression on the family. You are only to be friends with sons and daughters of the business associate's of your father's. But the weird thing is: you actually do everything they ask. They actually managed to raise you as their perfect little girl. You don't go to dances. Let alone parties. You don't drink. Do drugs. Break curfew, or break any rules for that matter." _

_Ok, so maybe all the things he's saying is true, Haley thought, but he made it sound like it was a bad thing. _

_"The bottom line is," Jared continued, "You don't have any fun."_

xXxXxXx

This memory was vivid in Haley's mind. She remembered it very well. She knew that she was all those things that Jared had said she was, but she had never had it just laid out in front of her. When she heard someone else say those words it seemed like her life was sad and empty. Which, maybe it would be if she kept living by her parent's rules. But ever since Nathan came into her life, she was no longer that girl that Jared had described. She was a whole new person. And on Friday she would go to her first high school party. And she would have fun.

She was brought back to reality by Jared waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Haley?" he said.

"What do you want, Jared?" Haley asked, really not in the mood to talk to him.

"Wow, cranky. What? You and Nathan having problems?" He said, with a grin that Haley just felt like slapping off of his face.

"Actually, no, me and Nathan are doing great." Haley said, starting to walk to her house. But Jared followed her.

"Oh, speaking of you and Nathan... Hmm, you're parents must not be too thrilled about that. Last I heard, they were pretty set on us being together." Jared said.

"Yeah, well, just because my parents are blind enough to like you, doesn't mean I am." Haley said.

"I'm just saying... It'd be a shame if somehow your parents found out about you and Nathan being together. I mean, the guy was just arrested." He said with a laugh that made Haley actually want to run away from this guy, but she knew that that wouldn't help. "They would be very disappointed..." Jared said.

"You wouldn't" Haley said.

"Maybe, you don't know. And frankly, I don't really care. I'm just enjoying the fact that now, I have something to hold over you, and I can just let it somehow slip to your parents innocently... Who knows?" He said and then he walked off.

Haley was stricken with a sudden sense of panic. If her parents found out that she had lied to them and was actually dating Nathan, poor, ex-convict, they might just kill both of them. Especially if they found out from one of their friends. No, she had to tell them herself. Before Jared got to them.

xXxXxXx

"Mom! Dad!" Haley called out when she entered her house, or mansion. She found her parents in the living room, sitting down on the couch and staring up at her.

"Haley, please sit down, your father and I have something to discus with you," Lydia James said, motioning towards an arm-chair. Haley did as she was told.

"OK, but first, I need to tell you something," Haley said.

"I'm sure it can wait, Haley." Haley's dad said. "This must be discussed now." He said emphasizing on that last word. Haley just nodded.

"I was just, ironing some clothes and then I got a call from Mariella," Mariella was one of Haley's mom's friends, who was very wealthy but also very nosy, loving gossip. "She said that she was just taking a stroll outside this afternoon, you know, around that park a couple blocks away."

Haley froze, she knew where this was going. Her parents had found out. And it wasn't even Jared who told them. Oh Great, this is it, I'm done, Haley thought.

Haley's mother say Haley's expression and could tell that Haley knew what she was talking about. "Haley, I specifically told you not to see that boy anymore. And you gave me your word. You said you would no longer see him. But I am obliged to have this conversation with you." She sighed. "You're grounded. No more tutoring. You are to go straight to school and then straight back and not to leave the house otherwise. Do you hear me?" She said.

Haley didn't say anything. Not a yes or and no. She started to get watery-eyes but she didn't let herself cry, not here, not now.

"Oh, honey," Lydia said, in a fake-sympathetic voice. "It's for your own good. That boy-"

"Nathan." Haley corrected her.

"Yes, Nathan. He's from a different world than us, sweetie. You and him, you just can't go together. He is in a whole separate world." She said.

"No mom," Haley said, no longer able to hold it all in. "We are in a different world. Nathan and me. You could never understand it." She said raising her voice and running up to her room.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK so I promise that the party will be in the next update! I swear! And more Naley too! Sorry for not putting any in there! please Review! THX!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Thanks for the reviews: TREEHILLADMIRER, JmQt831, Nathanlvr, and OTHlover04! You guys are great! I really appreciate your feedback! This chapter is pretty long, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 12**

Haley had managed to ignore her parents to some extent for a couple days, but not today. It was friday morning and Haley was all ready to leave to school. These last few days she had begun leaving to school way earlier in the morning, avoiding any extra time in her house with her parents. But this morning, her parents stopped her.

"Haley, come in the kitchen please." Her mother said, using a calm, but obveously fake voice.

"But I have to get to school," Haley said.

"You'll get to school on time. Your father and I just want to tell you something quickly," She said.

"Okay," Haley said, uneasily, a little woried at what was to come. She came into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from where her dad was already sitting. Her mother sat next to him.

"Haley," Her mother said, "Your father and I have been... conserned about your... behavior lately."

But Haley knew what this actualy meant. They were just conserned that her 'behavior' would but a mark on their perfect reputation.

"We love you very much, and we only want the best for you. We want you to have a good, stable life, that you can be proud of and that we can be proud of." Where is this going? Haley wondered.

"I'm happy with my life as it is, mom." Haley said.

"You may think that now," Her mom said. Haley noticed that it was her mom doing all the talking, her dad was just sitting there and nodding occasionaly to what Lydia was saying. "But once you realise that something is missing, it'll be too late." She sighed and looked as though she was preparing herself to say something, which she probably was.

"Haley," She started, "I don't know how to say this. You've probably noticed it yourself... You've changed, in the last couple of weeks. That boy-"

"Mom, I've told you a million times. 'That boy' has a name!" Haley said.

"Nathan. Right. Well, Nathan has changed you. And I know, you're young and naive and you think that it's all for the best and that you're in love, but believe me, he is only changing you into someone you are not meant to be. And as long as you are around him, you won't realise that you are making a mistake."

"What are you saying?" Haley asked, conserned. How were they going to make sure that she wasn't around Nathan anymore. They couldn't force her.

"Jimmy, you want to take this one?" Her mom asked her dad. Jimmy James nodded.

"Haley, your mother and I have decided..." He started.

"Yes?" Haley asked, getting impatient. The pit in her stomach was starting to grow. She got that feeling. When you just knew that something bad was going to come. When you're expecting something bad but you get something even worse.

"We would like you from now on to attent 'Julia Morgan School'." her father said.

"Julia Morgan School?" Haley asked. The name sounded familiar but she had no idea what it was.

"A bording school. In Maine." Haley closed her eyes. This has got to be a dream, she thought. A nightmare! How could this be happening to her? A bording school? In Maine? Oh, God...

"Julia Morgan," My mother said, "Is a manners high school for girls, and it will help you get your life back on track."

"I'm sorry," Haley said, "But when exactly did my life go OFF track?" She said. She couldn't believe this. Her parents wanted to ship her off to some all girls manners school, just because she had become close to Nathan? This was unbelievable!

"Haley, this isn't a negotiation. You are to leave this weekend." Her father said.

"This weekend? But, I haven't even finished the school year!" Haley shouted.

"I said: This isn't a negotiation. You are going to that school, Haley James." Her father said, forcefuly.

"I... I hate you!" Haley yelled.

"We are only doing this to help you." Haley's mother said.

"No, you're doing this to help YOU! You don't care about me! If you did, you'd let me go to the school I want, or date the people I want to... You're ruining my life!" Haley said. Her mother was about to say something else but Haley cut her off. "I have to go to school now." She said and she rushed out the door and ran all the way to school, tears flowing down her cheeks.

xXxXxXx

When Nathan got to school on friday, he was feeling pretty bad. His mom had pretty much given him the cold shoulder until this morning when she finaly asked him about what he did and why he did it. He had had a long talk with her. He knew he could be open and honest with her, and as supportive and understanding a mother she was she was still upset with him. What mother wouldn't be?

But Nathan was just sad about how much he let her down. Pretty much all his life he'd done shty things and his mom was never hearing the end of it from other parents or teachers, but she always stuck by him, and believed in him. He hated to disapoint her.

But right when Nathan got to school, he saw the short brunette standing infront of her locker, and he imediately became happier. To know that there was at least one person that he cared for very much, that was there for him was great.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed her cheek. Then he heard her sniff, and saw that her cheeks were stained from tears.

"Hales, what's wrong?" He asked, consern all over his voice.

At the sound of his voice, Haley thought about how much she was going to miss him. His southing voice and when he called her 'Hales', their little visits to Echo Park. At the thought that she was going to have to be away from all that so soon, she started crying again. She turned around to face Nathan and burried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Hales, what is it? What's going on?" He asked, his heart aching to see her like this.

"My.. parents.." Was all she could get out for right now, through her sobs. Nathan didn't quite know what it meant. Obveously it wasn't good. And considering her parents were very powerful people, it could be really, really bad.

xXxXxXx

Haley had been able to explain the situation to Nathan during lunch, when she had had time to calm down and she managed to tell him all of it without starting to cry again.

"Hales, we'll find a way out of it. It'll be OK," Nathan sais, trying to convince himself, but not really succeding. He would do anything in his power to get Haley to stay with him, but that might not be enough. He couldn't stand the thought of being away from her, it was too painful.

"Nathan, you don't know my parents. When they make up their minds, there is no changing it." Haley said, sadly.

"Well, I mean, they can't force you. Just don't go, just don't get on that plane." Nathan said.

"And then what? Live on the streets? There's no way my parents are just going to let me stay here, just because I refuse to go on the plane. They always have to get their way." Haley said.

They were in silence for a moment. Haley drowning in her sorrow and Nathan desperately trying to find another solution to this dilema. Then an idea struck him.

"Then... move in with me." Nathan said. And Haley even thought for a second that he was serious from his tone.

"Right, that's what I'm going to do." Haley said sarcasticaly.

"I'm serious." Nathan said. And Haley looked into his eyes. He was serious. "You don't want to live with your parents, you don't want to go to that bording school. I sure as hell don't want you to go. So, just move in with me."

"Nathan," Haley said, "I can't move in with you! What about your mom?" Haley was trying to figure things out in her head. Could this actualy work out? She thought.

"Well, OK, I'll have to ask her, but I'm sure she'll be fine with it. Look she's one of those people, who's... Well... Let's just say that she'll be happy to see that you've decided to get away from your parents. I mean, no offense to them, but she finds those sort of people kind of shallow, she'll be happy to help you escape from all of it." Nathan said.

The idea was seeming more and more possible to Haley by the second, and she actualy really wanted to do it. "Are- are you sure, Nathan?" Haley asked. "I mean, if your mom says yes, are you sure you really want to let me move into your house?" Haley said.

"Of course. Althought, I have to be honest with you. Our family... well isn't really that well off, so you'll probably have to get a job if your parents cut you off." Nathan said, kind of ashamed of the huge contraste money-wise between his family and Haley's. But that all went away when he saw Haley's sweet smile.

"Of course! Nate, I don't know what to say..." She said smiling and gazing lovingly into his eyes. "Thank you so much. This really means a lot to me. You really saved me." She said, truthfuly.

"Your Welcome. But let's not get our hopes up. Let's just see if my mom says yes first." Nathan said, but he was sure she would. He had told his mom all about Haley, and she actualy thought that Haley was turning him into a better person.

"Even if she doesn't. It was the sweetest, nicest, not-to-mention the sexiest, thing anyone has ever done for me, just the fact that you had that idea." Haley said and she captured his lips with hers. Oh yeah, there was no way she was going to that bording school. Sure she could come back on weekends, but a whole five days without being able to kiss Nathan? She didn't think she could do that. His kisses always left her breathless and senseless, and it was like all the great feelings in the world came to settle themselves in her heart.

Things were getting more and more intense, as their tongues battled it out, but they were unfortunitaly interupted.

"Ew, this is what we're suppose to look at while we eat our food?" Brooke said, jokingly as she sad down at the table, followed by Lucas, Peyton, Jake, and Tim. Nathan and Haley pulled apart, smiling.

"Please," Peyton said sarcasticaly to Brooke, "You should talk. You and Luke can barely keep off of each other." she said.

Lucas and Brooke looked at each other. "Yeah, that's true," They both said, and the group laughed a little.

"So, what's up?" Jake asked Nathan and Haley.

"Actualy," Nathan said, wanting to share the news, "Looks like Haley might be moving in with me."

"Wow, moving pretty fast, hun Haley?" Peyton teased.

"I'm kind of having trouble at home... so, yeah..." Haley said, not wanting to go into details. The gang nodded.

"Well, tutor-girl, there is no way that you are getting ready for my party with Nathan in the next room. How about you meet Peyton and me an hour early for the party at my house, we can get ready together." Brooke said, and Haley was greatful to have such nice, new friends.

"Thanks, Brooke," She said, "I would love to."

xXxXxXx

It was weird, because in the time that Haley was suppose to be tutoring Nathan, they had barely done any tutoring, yet now his grades were getting much better, and he was well above the minimum average grade he needed to stay on the basketball team. So, Haley was told she didn't need to tutor him anymore, so she was able to go straight home after school.

When she got home, she was able to avoid her parents and go straight to her room. When she got there, she got a call on her cell. It was Nathan.

"Hey," Haley said.

"Hey. Listen, I asked my mom. She said yes. So just pack your stuff and get over here as soon as you can, I'm dying to introduce you to her." Nathan said excitedly.

"Wow! Thank you so much! I can't wait to meet her. I'll pack right now and be there soon, but then I have to go and meet Brooke."

"Yeah, OK. I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Haley said. And They hung up.

About and hour later, she was carrying her suitcase down the stairs. She only wanted to back what was absolutely necessary and to her surprised she could fit it all in one medium-sized suit case.

When she reached the first floor of her house, she put her bag down and went to find her parents.

She reached the doorway of her living room and looked into it and say her parents there. Her mother was playing the piano and her father was sitting on the couch, reading the paper. They didn't notice her there until she cleared her throat.

"Oh, hello, Haley." Her father said.

"Hello, dear." Her mother said.

Haley took a deep breath. "Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Julia Morgan." She said. Her mother raised her eyebrows.

"We have already discused this. We are your parents. You do what we say. You ARE going to that school. End of story." she said.

"No, mom. I'm NOT going to that school. I'm going to move in with Nathan." Haley watched her mother's expression carefuly.

She didn't look disapointed. She didn't look angry, but not happy either. But she actualy looked... hurt. Haley had never seen her mother look hurt like that. Haley didn't even think that she would actualy be sad to lose her daughter. I mean, she was going to ship her off to Maine anyway.

Lydia obveously didn't know what to say, so she kept quiet.

"I talked it over with Nathan. And his mom agreed to it. I thought about it a lot and it's truely what I want." Before she didn't think that she would be saying all this to her parents. She thought it would be like a: 'I'm moving in with Nathan. Bye!' sort of thing. But seeing her mothers face. She felt like she owed her an explination.

"I know you think that I've not been acting like myself these last couple of weeks," Haley continued, "But that's just it. I've only just discovered my true self. And if I go to that school, I'll only be runing away from how my life should be. I know, that if I don't go to that school, you wouldn't let me live here anymore..." Haley waited for one of them to confirm or deny her last statement but neither said anything. So she took that as a confirmation. "So, I've decided to move in with Nathan."

Her parents still stayed silent. And Haley actualy wished one would say something, even if it was to yell at her. But they didn't. And Haley actualy thought that she saw her mother's eyes water-up a little bit, but she may have been mistaken.

"I don't know what you guys think about all this. You're still my parents and I still love you. And I hope that you will still see me as your daughter, but I can't decide that I guess." They still didn't say anything and didn't look her in the eye. "So, I guess, this is... Good-Bye." She said and she turned and left, glancing back to find her parents still in the exact same position. Her mother still with that hurt look on her face, and Haley could swear that she saw a single drop roll down her cheek.

xXxXxXx

Nathan's mother was all that he made her out to be and more. Haley really felt warmth and comfort in their household. Yet, she wasn't able to forget about her last meeting with her parents, her mother's image still flashing in her head.

Now, Haley was at Brooke's house, getting ready. She had brought an outfit that she had picked out from her wardrobe, but honestly, it didn't scream "PARTY!" But then again, none of her clothes did.

Haley had been really excited for this party for the last week, yet now, she couldn't get herself to be all excited for it like Brooke and Peyton were.

She hadn't expected to be THIS sad about leaving Lydia and Jimmy. But they WERE her parents. And she didn't want them to cut her out of their lives. Because, it was like, she was Haley James, rich girl, with perfect manners and always a smile and going to every dinner party and being the perfect little daughter, and now she was just Haley, ex-perfect daughter, disgrace to her used-to-be parents, and now with no family. And it really hit her, hard. She had NO family. Nothing.

She tried to put all that in the back of her mind as she got dressed in Brooke's clothes ("What do you think this is? A Church party?" Brooke had exclaimed when she saw the outfit Haley had brought over and she insisted that she wear Brooke's clothes.), did her make-up (very simple, she was never one to over-do it), and did her hair. She left it down in lose curls and spritzed some hair spray on there, and she was done.

"Haley, you look gorgeous!" Peyton said. She had her hair down too, in her wild blond curls. She was wearing a black halter and jeans.

Haley was wearing a blue mini-skirt and a white, low-cut tank-top (all Brooke's). "Thank you. You look amazing. Both of you." Haley said to Peyton and Brooke.

"You think?" Brooke asked as she did a litte twirl. She was wearing a black mini-skirt and a pink tube-top.

"Definitaly. Lucas won't know what's hit him when he see's you." Haley said.

"As will Nathan when he see's you." Peyton added to Haley.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK OK I know I promised that this chapter would be the party! but I'm just THAT mean! No jk, but This update ended up way longer than I thought, and this has already been pretty long so I promise the next chapter is the party!**

**I hope you guys liked it! Please Review and tell me what you thought! Thanks so much!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Thanks to: NaleyBop, abonana (your review really touched me. It was really sweet, thanks so much!), TREEHILLADMIRER, JmQt831, OTHlover04, Nathanlvr, and chelle2911! You're reviews are so greatly appreciated!**

**Chapter 13**

The boys, Tim, Jake, Nathan and Luke, all arrived shortly after at Brooke's house. By then the girls were done with getting ready. Brooke jumped into Lucas's arms and gave him a big kiss. Peyton was a little more shy with the PDA's, so she just went up and hugged Jake and kissed him on the cheek, while Jake mumbled compliments in her ear, making her smile and blush. Haley went up to Nathan, who appeared to be speechless at the moment.

"Wow, Hales..." He said as he put his arms around her waist. Haley blushed and smiled. "... Wow. You are so beautiful." He said frankly.

"Thank you," Haley said quietly. She was especially shy when it came to compliments, which she got a lot of from Nathan. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Even just a peck from Nathan, left Haley feeling on top of the world.

She had to admit, she had been feeling pretty down lately, what with everything with her parents, or ex-parents, whatever they were. She was excited for this party. She really wanted to let lose for once, and have crazy fun, but she didn't think she would be able to with the persistent image of her mother crying, glued to her mind.

xXxXxXx

An hour or so later, the party was in full swing. And Haley had actually managed to enjoy herself. Brooke and Peyton stuck by her side to make sure she was getting the best party experience ever, minus the drinking. They wanted her to enjoy it all, but also be able to remember it the next morning.

Peyton, Haley, and Brooke were on the dance floor, dancing to "Just a lil' Bit" by 50 Cent. Haley felt like she was finally letting lose, having fun. She was able to relax a little with her friends and she was glad about that. Lucas, Jake and Nathan came over and smiled broadly at their girlfriends dancing together.

_Damn, Haley looks sexy like that, _Nathan thought. Okay, so she always looks sexy, he reminded himself, but still... He looked to Lucas and then to Jake and could tell that they were thinking the same things about their girlfriends. It was weird, he would never have pictured Brooke with Lucas or Jake with Peyton, but somehow they seemed to fit perfectly. Then again, he would have never pictured himself with Haley James either, but look how that turned out. A couple weeks into their relationship and they were already living together. And he could never be happier.

Nathan came up behind Haley and wrapped his arms around her stomach and they started swaying to the beat. Lucas and Brooke, and Jake and Peyton, did the same. Soon enough, Lucas and Brooke decided to go be alone somewhere and they left. Jake and Peyton looked at each other, and without saying a word, left too, wanting to be alone also. Nathan and Haley kept dancing, but started laughing a little at their friends not-so-subtle attempt to leaving Nathan and Haley alone.

Haley saw Peyton and Brooke talking to the DJ, Lucas and Jake right behind them. And right then, Haley doubted it was by any coincidence, a slow song came on. Haley and Nathan stopped grinding with each other, and Haley turned around to face him.

Even though they were together, so really it's not like it would be weird to slow dance with each other, it was still awkward. Haley didn't know if Nathan was into the slow-dancing thing or if he expected her to ask him, or if she should wait to ask her or what. She got suddenly very nervous, and blurted out the first thing she could think of to get out of that awkward situation. Of course it wouldn't been so much easier just to ask him to dance, but right then all she could think of saying was:

"I think I'm going to get some water..." She said. That was random, she thought. She really did want to dance with Nathan. _Why on earth didn't I just ask him?_ She asked herself. She started walking away, she might as well do as she said, she thought. But Nathan grabbed her arm and swung her back around.

"I don't think so," He said as he chuckled and brought her closer so he could wrap his arms around her waist. She brought her arms around his neck and rester her head on his chest. She gazed up at him lovingly. He was so perfect for her. So gentle and kind and loving. She didn't even know if she deserved him. There she was making some excuse and there he was pulling her in for a dance. Haley was so insecure and she didn't know anything about all of this dating stuff, but Nathan made it that much easier. She really couldn't have asked for anything better.

xXxXxXx

After a couple more songs, Nathan and Haley decided to take a break. Nathan went off to find Tim, and Haley went to get some water, this time actually needing it. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and she waited until she was in the quiet kitchen to pick it up, but by then it was too late. The screen of her phone read: "You have one new message". She clicked on it and pressed her phone to her ear to listen to it:

"_Haley. This is your mother. I was hoping to talk to you, but unfortunately I guess I will have to tell you this in a message. After you left, your father and I discussed the... situation very deeply. We looked at it from every angle, and we only believe that it is more proof that that boy has changed you. You have forgotten who you are, where you belong. You have forgotten all about principles, and the way we do things in the James's household. Since, you have decided to leave us and live with the Scott's, there is nothing we can do about it. Just know this: You will regret this. You will eventually remember your true self, and where you belong. But when that happens, don't think for one second that you can come back home and be welcomed back with open arms. You made your decision and now you must live with it. You're on your own, now, Haley. Good-Bye._"

Her mother's voice cracked as she said those last few things, and Haley could tell that she was crying. I can't believe this, Haley thought. Her worst thoughts were actually coming true. They didn't want to be Haley's parents anymore. They had no daughter as far as they were concerned. What did this mean? Would she have a father to walk her down the isle when she got married? Would her children have grand-parents?

Haley really needed Nathan at that moment. Tears were flooding down her cheeks, not just a couple of little drops too. She looked around and couldn't find Nathan anywhere. She passed by Brooke and Lucas, who were heavily making out in a corner, so she couldn't talk to either of them. Jake and Peyton could be crossed of her list of go-to's as-well, because Haley had seen them go into a room about ten minutes earlier, and she really didn't want to disturb that.

The tears were starting to make her vision foggy so she decided not to risk the not being able to see and tripping and falling on her face scenario, so she just sat down on a near-by couch.

"You look like you need a drink," Some person said to her, that she didn't recognize. "While supplies last?" She said, as she handed a plastic cup to Haley. Haley just stared at it. No! Would be her first impulse to an offer like that. Even since she knew what it was she would associate 'drinking' with 'bad', but now she found herself hesitating.

She remembered what Nathan had said to her their first time tutoring. She had asked him why he drank and he had answered: Just to escape from reality. God, that sounded good to Haley. It sounded really good. To escape from her mother's broken voice in her head, her mothers sad face in her mind, the thought that she was now parent-less. She wished that she could escape all the what if's that were going through her mind right now. What if things didn't work out with her and Nathan? What if Nathan ended up kicking her out if his house? What if she ended up on the street? What if her parents happened to walk by and just look at her as if she were some random homeless person, not worthy or their attention?

But the main What If that stood out: What if she took that drink that was held out infront of her face? She could escape from it all. She would rather feel drunk and unbalanced than the way she was feeling right now. And besides this is a party. This is what you're suppose to do... right?

She managed a smile as she took the drink from the girl. She took a sip and while not enjoying the taste that much, she enjoyed the feeling. She wasn't buzzed or anything yet, but she felt a twinge of excitement. So this is what it feels like to drink, she thought. There was something exciting about breaking rules, and doing things you don't normally do or have never done in your life. And she liked that feeling.

She finished her drink pretty quickly. While since she was small and slim and she had never drank before, it wouldn't take much to get her drunk, she didn't feel like one drink had been enough. She still felt almost as much pain as she had before, and could not get her mother, or used-to-be mother, out of her mind.

She soon found another drink and swallowed that down in no-time. Her head started spinning and she was soon starting to forget all about her parents. She felt like she was soaring. She wanted to have fun! She wanted to dance! Sing! Jump! Whatever it took, she just wanted to do something fun, something wild!

xXxXxXx

"Tim, how many times do I have to tell you? If you threaten guys, they're gonna take it as a challenge for a fight. They're not just gonna get intimidated by you and run away." Nathan said. He had found Tim getting beat up by some guy on their football team, this guy was huge. Sometimes Nathan really didn't know what goes on in Tim's head when he threatens a guy like that.

"He was being a jackass." Tim said. He had cuts and bruises all-over. It was really a sad sight. "I don't see how he gets all these hot girlfriends." This surprised Nathan. David, the guy who had beaten Tim up, was huge and dumb as a post, and he did not get attention from the girls at Tree Hill High.

"What're you talking about?" Nathan asked. "He has hot girlfriends from other schools or something?"

Tim nodded. "I've seen pictures." He confirmed.

"So, big deal, the guy knows how to use PhotoShop to insert a picture of Angelina Jolie into his Prom picture. You figured that out years ago." Nathan said. And Tim didn't deny it. Nathan laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw Haley inside, stumbling around everywhere. She almost looked... drunk? _Haley_ was drunk?

"Uh, I gotta go, Tim. See you later." He said and patted Tim on the back.

"Ow!" Tim exclaimed and Nathan gave him an apologetic look. Then, ran off inside to find Haley.

xXxXxXx

"Naty!" Haley exclaimed as she saw Nathan rushing towards him. She had had a couple more drinks and was now practically floating. If she wasn't drunk before, she definitely was now.

"Hales? Jeez, Haley, how many drinks have you had?" Nathan asked. He was so shocked that Haley- _his_ Hales- was actually drinking. But there was no denying it, she was definitely drunk. And OK, Nathan couldn't judge her for drinking, he had been way more drunk in his life, but it was so unlike Haley. It didn't seem right. Something must have happened.

"Oh, I lost count after tree!" Haley said, laughing for no reason.

"You mean three?" Nathan said. This was weird, him being the one correcting her. He was pretty worried about Haley, what could have happened for her to want to drink? he thought. But he had to admit, it was a quite funny sight to see.

"YA!" Haley yelled, making Nathan's ears hurt. "Yeah! That's it! Three!" She said laughing hysterically. "Come on, Nathan, let's dance!" She said, her eyes lit up and she started swaying to the music. She was letting it all out, and Nathan knew that he needed to get her to calm down, before she started dancing on a table or something.

"Uh... Why don't you come with me," He said as he took Haley's hand and led her away from the crowd into an unoccupied room. Haley didn't protest, it's not like she would have had enough force to anyway. "Look," Nathan said as they got settled in the room, him still standing and her siting on the bed, "I don't know how much you've drank, so I don't know how long until this wear's off. But you might want to try and relax here, I don't want you to do anything you regret."

"You're so good to me, Natey!" Haley said, jumping up and into his arms. She kissed him hard on the lips before he could say anything else. Haley had that power over him, that just made him not able to not kiss back.

Things intensified as their tongues collided together. Nathan could taste the alcohol in her mouth. He didn't want things to go further. Wait. Scratch that. He definitely wanted things to go further. But now not, not while Haley was like this. He knew that whenever or wherever they ever did have sex, it would be special for him, but he needed it to be special for her, and if she was drunk, he couldn't exactly say it would be special for her.

Even though he thought those things, he couldn't pull away. He literally was not able to, somehow his brain just couldn't communicate with his body just then. Suddenly he found himself letting Haley pull of his shirt and throw it on the ground, only parting his lips from hers for a slit second to get it off his head. But for that slit second, he was able to reach reality and he pulled away a little and looked into Haley's eyes that were looking up at him.

That passionate kiss seemed to have calmed her down a little. "Hales, what're we doing?" Nathan asked, breathing heavily.

The question echoed in Haley's head over and over again. What _were_ they doing? She asked herself. This is sex. A big deal, a _huge _deal. Maybe it was all the drinks Haley had consumed or maybe it was just that she was in love with Nathan, but she wanted Nathan so bad at that moment. This was it. She wanted to party, she partied. Now she wanted to do something wild, and having sex with Nathan while she was drunk, would definitely be wild. Would she actually do this? Could she?

She didn't know what to answer to Nathan's question. All the alcohol in her system, plus the after-affects that kiss had had on her, left her mind all dizzy and she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that she wanted Nathan, and had to have him. Since she couldn't think of how to say that to him, she just pulled him in for another mind-blowing kiss.

Nathan still wasn't sure about all this. But right now, his physical needs and wants were getting the better of him and he gave in, kissing her back hard and bringing her body closer to his.

They made their way to the bed, discarding clothes on their way. All thoughts of anything but Nathan escaped Haley's mind, she didn't even know if she was doing all this right, and she didn't care. Nathan didn't know if he would regret this later. All he knew was that he was enjoying it now. But at least, he was sure to use protection.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK guys! and that's where I leave you! I wasn't sure if I wanted to make that happen in this chapter, but then I thought, what the hell! I hope you guys liked it! Please give me feed back! Please review! Next up: The morning after...**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews, and sorry for the wait: TREEHILLADMIRER, JmQt831, that70slover, chelle2911, beachiegal, Nathanlvr. I say this everytime, but again: you guys are amazing, thanks so much for the really kind words.**

**CHAPTER 14**

After Nathan and Haley had had sex, several times actually, Haley fell asleep right away. Nathan took a minute to call his mom and tell her that they were going to stay at Brooke's house that night. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and it wasn't like Nathan's mom didn't know the things Nathan did, so she just insisted that he be safe (which he always was) and that he get home the next morning. Soon, Nathan too fell asleep, but not without thinking thoroughly about the events that had just happened.

It's not that he felt bad himself, but he just felt bad for Haley. Her first time was supposed to be special. And it was really _really _special for him, but what would Haley think? He didn't want her to regret it. Or worse, resent him for it. But maybe she should, it was all his fault. He could have been a better person and stopped it before it happened, that would have been the right thing to do. But unfortunately, the right thing to do was almost never what Nathan did.

xXxXxXx

The second Haley woke up, she needed to throw up. She turned around and threw up in the trash can next to the bed. Her head was still spinning a little. _So this is what a hangover feels like_, she thought as she silently vowed never to get drunk again.

It took her a few minutes for her to realize what had happened. It hit her when she noticed that she wasn't wearing anything and there was a dent in the pillow next to here where someone else must have been sleeping before, who wasn't there anymore. _Oh God,_ she thought. Yes, all the pieces were getting put together now, and she remembered everything about last night.

She suddenly needed to vomit again, and thinking that the trash can wasn't exactly the right place again, she quickly wrapped the sheet around her and ran to a bathroom. When she was done, and sure that she wasn't going to throw up anymore, she walked out to the kitchen, to find Brooke (who Haley just remembered that it was her house she was in) and Nathan making breakfast.

They turned around when they saw her, not even trying to hide their concerned expressions. Haley took a seat at the table. Nathan walked towards her with a tray.

"Water, aspirin, and fruit loops. The perfect hang-over cure," He said as he set the tray in front of her. Haley sent him a thankful smile and Nathan was happy that she wasn't cold towards him. Even thought most of his mind was filled with concern for what Haley must be feeling and thinking, he couldn't help but notice how hot Haley looked wrapped just in that thin sheet.

Brooke had guessed that they probably wanted some time alone so she went to her room. Unlike Nathan and Haley, Lucas, Jake and Peyton had all left late last night. Or, I guess early this morning.

Nathan took a seat next to Haley. And thinking that Haley was probably feeling pretty low, he decided not to make small talk and get to the point. He wanted Haley to know the subject wasn't taken lightly or anything. He didn't want her to feel like she had to keep all her thoughts about it to herself. They needed to be honest with each other.

"Haley, about last night..." He wasn't able to finish before Haley burst into tears.

Haley didn't know what came over her. But now Nathan was talking about last night, and it was all so _real_ now. It was overwhelming and Haley just couldn't keep it all in. And she just started crying.

"Oh, Hales, don't cry," Nathan said soothingly, caressing her hair. "I'm sorry, Hales, please don't cry."

"I'm sorry Nathan," Haley stuttered out in between sobs. She didn't want Nathan to think she was some kind of immature little girl. The thing is: Sex was a really big deal to her. And while, she didn't want Nathan to think she didn't want to or anything, she wasn't even sure herself if she was happy about it. And the fact that she was drunk last night just made it that much worse.

"What? No, Hales, you have nothing to apologize for," Nathan said. It killed him to see her this way. Haley who, just recently was so strong for leaving her parents and all. And now it hurt him so see her so... broken. He wished that it wasn't him who did this to her. But he knew that he to blame for this. And that killed him even more.

"Yes, I do. I'm a mess. I didn't want it to be like this. I got _drunk_, Nathan! Drunk! And my parents won't have anything to do with me now, and-" Haley rambled in between sniffs, as she slowed down her sobs.

"Wait, hold on a second. You're parents what?" Nathan asked surprised. Haley hadn't told him about this part before.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Haley said, not wanting Nathan to feel bad for her.

"Hales, it does matter. We can talk about this." Nathan said.

"Nathan, I'm sorry, I just want to be alone for a bit." Haley said, not wanting to hurt his feelings or anything, but she needed some time to sort hers out a little. Get everything straight in her head. She got up and went to the bedroom where she and Nathan had slept, got dressed in her clothes from the party, and before going out the front door, she added: "I'll meet you back at your house." And then she left.

Nathan didn't move for a while. He kept going over things in his head. Haley's parents didn't want anything to do with her? How could that be? They were her _parents_! His mom would never do something like that to him. It made him thankful for all that he had.

He figured that things between Haley didn't exactly go well, but they could have gone way worse. She didn't seem to be as mad at him as she was at herself. And Nathan couldn't exactly figure out why. It was his fault, he didn't want Haley to beat herself up about it or regret it or anything.

A little while later he left Brooke's house too, figuring that he should probably get home and wait for Haley to come. He really needed to talk to her. All the things he had wanted to say about last night, he didn't have time to say them. And she really needed to know them.

xXxXxXx

Of course, Haley ended up at Echo Park, her single favorite place in the world. She just hoped that Nathan didn't go looking for her. Because he probably knew that she would be there. He was the only one.

Haley had stopped crying and was now just left alone to sort some things out. But as much as she thought about it, she couldn't help but think: What does Nathan think about it all? And what were they supposed to do now? They couldn't just act like it didn't happen. At least she couldn't. It was too big a deal for her.

It pretty much all depends on his reaction, Haley decided. If he is happy about it, than so is she. But if he acts like it was a mistake, than she will regret it. She suddenly really didn't want to be alone anymore. She just wanted Nathan to accept her and wrap her in his arms. She wanted him to see that even though she was a complete mess, and that she couldn't get her feelings straight, all she really wanted was to be with him. And then everything else will sort themselves out.

"Hey beautiful, why the sad face?" A guy's voice said from behind her. She could tell by the voice that it wasn't Nathan. And if it wasn't Nathan, she didn't really want to talk to him, but she turned around anyway.

"Jared, hi." She said, making sure to make her tone seem unhappy that it was him.

"Rumor 'round town is that you ran away from home." Jared said.

"mhm," Haley said, not really interested about what he had to say about her.

"So, I saw you yesterday at the party. You were pretty wasted," He said with a grin, he knew he was slowly getting to her. Haley gritted her teeth.

"Like you care," She said sarcastically.

"I do care. I didn't tell your parents about you and Nathan," He said.

Haley sighed. "They found out anyways, so it doesn't really matter." She said, really wanting to get away from him. She didn't want to talk about this with someone she hated. "I really have to get going-"

"Anyway, the reason why I came here," Jared interrupted, making Haley even more annoyed, "is 'cause I need you to pass on a message to your friend."

"Want to narrow that down a little?" Haley said.

"Nathan," Jared said with a smirk that made Haley just want to slap him hard.

"What's the message?" She asked.

"Tell him he better watch his back." He said, toughly. He obviously thought that he was all-that. It made Haley sick that a guy like that actually had friends.

"Why? What're you going to do?" Haley asked worried. She didn't need anything else to complicate her life.

"Just, tell him, K?" Jared said. Haley didn't answer, so Jared just walked off. And Haley ran off after him. She caught up to him and shoved him hard in the chest.

"What're you going to do to Nathan?" She yelled. Jared laughed. A menacing, hair-curling laugh.

"You're kinda sexy when you're mad, you know that?" He said and then continued to walk away. This time Haley didn't follow, she just walked off in the opposite direction towards Nathan's house.

xXxXxXx

Haley hadn't gotten a key yet so she was outside Nathan's house knocking on the door. She had ran all the way there and was so out of breath, but her little meeting with Jared at really freaked her out. Jared wasn't as strong as Nathan, but he had power, and he knew some people that could do some serious damage. Haley figured that Jared just wanted revenge for Nathan breaking their window.

Nathan opened the door and was so relieved to see Haley there, that he completely forgot that they were in a weird situation. He was just so happy to see her that he pulled her in for a tight long hug. Haley started crying a little.

"Hales, what's wrong?" Nathan asked, concerned, once they had pulled apart and walked inside. Nathan's mom was at work, so they were alone in the house.

"Nathan there's something I need to tell you..." Haley said in between sobs.

"Haley are you Okay? You want a glass of water or something?" Nathan asked.

"No, Nathan, listen to me. I ran into Jared. Jared Gabriel." Haley said and right at the sound of his name, Nathan tensed up a little, he hated the guy. "And he said that he wanted me to give you a message." Haley said, still crying a little, but managing to speak. "He said that you better watch your back." Haley said.

Nathan looked at her confused and then started chuckling a little. Haley looked at him surprised.

"What? What is so funny about that? Nathan this is serious. I'm scared for you." Haley said, not believing that he was actually_ laughing_.

"Hales, don't worry." Nathan said," That guy couldn't hurt me even if he wanted to. Listen, people say that type of thing all the time, he was obviously just trying to scare you." Haley wasn't completely convinced, but she nodded anyway.

"Nathan, about last night, I just want to say-" Haley started.

"Wait, Haley, I think I should talk first." Nathan interrupted and Haley listened. "OK. So last night was... confusing, I guess. I mean, if you regret it and resent me for what happened, I completely understand. I should have been a bigger man. I know that you wanted it to be special. And I wanted it to be special for you-"

"Nathan, it's not your fault." Haley interrupted, "I was the one that got drunk."

"But that's just it. Even if you wanted to stop, you couldn't. And I knew that. It's just, you're amazing, and beautiful, and just so damn irresistible, I couldn't stop before things just... got out of hand." Nathan said, not sure if he really used the right words.

"So... you regret it," Haley said with a low voice.

"No, no, Haley. That's not what I meant." Nathan said, trying to make sense. "It's just that it was so special to me, but I only regret that it wasn't for you."

Haley felt better already. She would have thought that this conversation with him would have been much harder, but she found it so easy to tell him what she was thinking and actually be honest with him. Nathan pulled her in for another hug.

"Thank you," Haley whispered. She wasn't even sure what she was thanking him for. Maybe their little talk they just had. Maybe the way he made her feel complete. Or maybe it was just a thanks for everything he had done for her. She felt so much better about herself now that she knew him.

"Any time," Nathan responded in a low whisper. And they stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the feel of being in each others arms.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK, I hope you guys liked it! Please Review! Tell me what you thought!**

**thanks!**

**NEXT: Naley cuteness**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Thanks to: TREEHILLADMIRER, JmQt831, crazy4fiction, Nathanlvr, and chelle2911 for all the great replies!**

**Chapter 15**

Nathan and Haley had spend the rest of the weekend pretty low-key. They didn't really see any one else, they just hung out. Nathan knew that Haley was still a little shaken from what happened at the party, and with everything with her parents, and he just wanted her to be able to relax. And Nathan was happy to spend a weekend just relaxing with Haley. He wanted to make sure there was no weirdness between them, even though that wasn't exactly guaranteed.

Haley was starting to feel more at ease with Nathan, but there was still a little awkwardness there, and it was hard to get rid of. They had talked a lot and she had been so open with him, so communication was definitely not the problem. But there still seemed to be something between them. Maybe it was the whole Jared thing. They had gone out a couple times, but thankfully didn't run into him, and even though Haley knew that Nathan could defend himself pretty well, Haley was still scared.

"So, I was thinking I would go out and look for a job," Haley said, and Nathan was actually relieved. He knew that they couldn't live off of just him and his mom's salaries, Haley would have to get a job eventually if she was going to be living with them. And Nathan didn't want to be having to nag Haley about it. But it seemed that Haley was actually eager about getting a job, like it was some great experience or something.

"Okay, I can come with you if you want," Nathan offered.

"Oh that's OK, it might be kind of boring," Haley said, but truthfully she just wanted some time alone. She loved hanging out with Nathan and he was being so sweet, but she really wanted to spend some time alone with her thoughts, and maybe she would be able to figure out just what this thing between them was.

"Alright," Nathan said, feeling a little taken-aback by how fast she had answered. But if that's what she wanted, then that's what he wanted.

xXxXxXx

Haley left soon after to look for a job. Seconds later Nathan already missed her. He couldn't think of anything to do, so he just went online for a little while. He signed on IM.

The Welcome box came up and a picture of GreenDay on it caught his eye. He read the caption underneath it: "GreenDay rocks in Tree Hill tonight, for their American Idiot tour!" Nathan smiled, remembering that the mutual liking of this band is what got Nathan interested in Haley. He remembered that he had actually tried to get tickets for them to this concert. He didn't remember that it was tonight though.

He could just imagine seeing Haley's face light up when she saw Green Day live with him. That would have been great. Nathan sighed, if only, he thought.

xXxXxXx

About an hour, but what seemed like eternity to Nathan, later, Haley came back to Nathan's house. She looked a little exhausted, but she was smiling.

"I got a job!" She practically screamed.

"That's great. Where is it?" Nathan asked.

"A little place called Karen's Cafe." Haley said as she sat down next to her boyfriend, who was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, no way. Doesn't Lucas's mom own it?" Nathan asked.

"Well, yeah... But don't think I got the job just because her son is one of my best friends!" Haley said, although she knew it was probably true.

"Hey, I never said that. I'm sure she hired you because she knows just how incredible you are." Nathan said genuinely.

Haley smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. Nathan leaned his head down to meet hers for a short, sweet kiss. Then suddenly he stood up.

"Come on, Hales, we're going out." He said reaching out a hand for her. She grabbed it and got up.

"Where're we going?" Haley asked, surprised by his spur of the moment actions.

"You'll see. It's a surprise." Nathan said, getting excited. His excitement started rubbing off on Haley and she got all giddy, wondering where he was going to take her. She hurried and got ready and then they ran out the door.

xXxXxXx

"Nate, come on, at least give me a hint," Haley begged for the millionth time. They had been in the car for fifteen minutes, and Haley couldn't stand the mystery any more.

"We're almost there." Nathan said, actually enjoying his way of torturing his girlfriend. Haley pouted and looked out the window. It was seven o'clock and the sun was setting. The sky was a mixture of oranges, and pinks and yellows, that were just stunning.

Nathan noticed her pout go away as she gazed out into the sky. Of course, he was driving so he had to keep an eye on the road, but that was awfully hard to do, considering how beautiful Haley looked right then.

"Here we are," Nathan said as they suddenly got part of a huge line of cars all entering the same parking lot.

Haley looked around, and found something completely unexpected.

"The Tree Hill Arena? Why are we here?" Haley asked.

"Well, it just so happens that Green Day is performing here." Nathan said.

"Yeah, everyone knows that, but how on earth were you able to get tickets? I heard it was practically impossible."

"Well, I don't exactly have tickets." Nathan confessed.

Haley looked at him confused. "What so you... enjoy waiting in a car in line for nothing?"

Nathan chuckled. "Okay, so when we first met, when you first started tutoring me, I was pretty amazed that you liked Green Day. I thought it was awesome. And I dunno, it seemed like from the moment we met, we kind of hit it off, you know?" Haley nodded, still not having any idea where this conversation was going. "So, after school one day, I went on the computer and was able to find two tickets to this show available. So... I bought them... for you and me."

Haley face lit up. Even if he didn't get the tickets, it was so incredible that he had done that for her. No one had ever done something that sweet for her before. "Nathan-" She started to say, but was cut-off.

"Nah, Haley it's OK. I wanted to do it, because I liked having your company. But then, later I get this e-mail and they that I couldn't get the tickets because my credit card was rejected." He didn't feel like getting into the details of his mom actually stealing his money to pay the bills, so he just took out that part, "So, I was really disappointed by that, and I guess, kind of ashamed, so I never told you." Nathan said, as it was finally their turn to get into tghe parking lot.

Haley was speechless. She still didn't know what the hell they were doing there if they didn't have tickets, but her mind wasn't concentrating on that anymore. She was just focused on Nathan. So what if she didn't really have parents? So what if she was no longer living in the same house? So what if she was no longer rich? All those things had never made her feel the way she did when she heard the words Nathan had just said.

xXxXxXx

Nathan and Haley remained silent, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was more of a just-contently-being-together silence. Not having to say words to know what each other was thinking. Nathan was directing where they were going, and Haley was following without asking any questions.

Nathan and Haley were now alone at the side of the building. They were right infront of a door that said "Do Not Enter" on it. And of course, Nathan when straight for the handle.

"Nathan, wait," Haley said. "What're we doing? We can't sneak into the concert!"

"Hales, just trust me, OK? We're not going to sneak into the concert, just into the building... You'll understand later. Just follow me." He said as he opened the door and went inside. Haley, with her wild imagination, imagined an alarm would go off and a dozen guards showing up with big guns and a helicopter above to film the crime scene. But of course none of that happened, so Haley followed him.

Nathan lead them to the stairs and started climbing up, Haley following close behind.

xXxXxXx

What seemed like a million flights of stairs later they came to the top.

"Nathan, what're we doing?" Haley asked once again. She was out of breath from all those stairs.

"Shhhh, Hales, you'll see. Trust me, it's all worth it," He whispered as he opened the door on their left. When he opened it Haley was surprised to see fresh air and the night sky. They were on the roof of the Arena.

"Oh My Gosh!" Haley whispered in awe. I mean, how many people can say they've been on TOP of the arena? Not many.

"It's a shame to pass up a good concert." Nathan said, "I've done this a couple times before with some friends, you can hear the concert really well from up here."

"Nathan, wow, this is... wow," Haley said feeling dumb for her choice of words. "Thank you, this is unbelievable!" She said walking over to him and kissing him passionately.

Nathan was pretty surprised by this. I mean, they'd had passionate kisses before, but he wasn't expecting one any time soon after what had happened at the party, but there they were, in the middle of a mind-blowing, earth-shattering kiss.

They broke apart, at the sound of incredibly loud applause and cheers.

"It must be starting," Nathan said as he sat down on the roof, and was soon joined by Haley, who boldly sat down in his lap. She leaded back into his chest and he kissed the back of her neck, lovingly. And then Haley felt it. The thing that was between them, that Haley was searching to find, suddenly vanished. There was no awkwardness. No regret. Nothing but Love, Haley thought. Pure, true love.

"I love you," Haley whispered to Nathan.

"I love you, too." Nathan whispered back, as the first song started to play.

xXxXxXx

**AN: Hey guys, please review! I think this is one of my favorite chapters, just because it's not very dramatic and just has some cute good old fashioned Naley. I really want to know what you guys thought! Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Thanks for the replies: chelle2911, TREEHILLADMIRER, OTHlover04, Nathanlvr, and JmQt831. I cannot thank you guys enough for the wonderful replies, I'm always so happy to receive them!**

**Chapter 16**

Nathan and Haley listened to the whole concert up on the roof in each others arms, occasionally singing along or bobbing their heads to the beat. They didn't speak much, and they didn't need to, after saying those three little words, it didn't seem like there was anything left to say.

When the concert was over, the gathered all their things and headed for the door to the stairs.

"Alright, here's the thing, we have to make sure no guards see us down the stairs, but once we're down there, we'll just blend in with the crowd and it'll be fine." Nathan said.

"Ok," Haley responded. "That shouldn't be so hard."

"Think again," Someone said, not Haley, not Nathan. So who was it? It was a deep voice coming from behind them, where the door was. They turned around to see two police men in the doorway, their only Exit. "Are you aware," The same police man continued, "That it is against federal law to go to a concert without actually having tickets. Coming here, and sitting on the roof of a building that you do not own is also against the law."

"Listen sir, if I can explain..." Nathan started and the man nodded. "Me and my girlfriend, we... we've kind of been having a rough time, we both love this band and we just wanted to enjoy their music, since we were unable to get tickets to the show. It was my idea to come up here, not hers. We didn't mean any harm, I just figured that it wouldn't make much of a difference. We would just come up here, listen to the concert, then leave, no harm done."

"Nathan Scott, right?" Nathan nodded, confused at how he would know his name. "Mr. Scott, when we got a call saying that you were here doing this, we were surprised. Since you are still on parole, we are forced to take you down to the station." He said, he looked sympathetic towards him, but he wasn't doing anything to prove it.

"What? That's a little out of line, don't you think, sir?" Haley asked. Not again, she couldn't stand this again. It's not like Nathan had the money to pay whatever fine they were going to charge him, and now that Haley wasn't associated with her parents, she didn't have the money either.

"I'm sorry, but those are the rules. Miss," He said addressing Haley, "You can go with just a warning, but we need to take Mr. Scott."

"But-" Haley tried again, but Nathan interrupted her.

"Hales, it's OK. I'm so sorry for this mess, we'll figure it out, I promise." Nathan said as he let the two police men grab him by the arm harshly.

"I'm going with you." Haley said to Nathan, and then turned to the police men, "At least let me follow you in his car." She said. The two men nodded, and Nathan was able to get his keys out of his pocket and hand them to Haley. "OK," Haley said, trying to sound confident, but inside she was breaking, "so I'll see you there. Hang in there," She said softly to Nathan, reassuringly. She figured, he would have probably said that to her, but come on, he was the one getting arrested, again, he was the one who needed the reassuring.

xXxXxXx

Nathan was glad that Haley wasn't upset with him. It was his fault that they had come up there, he just figured the fact that it wasn't exactly allowed would make that more romantic. Something like that. But he had to admit, it was stupid thing to do when he was still on parole.

As he walked down the stairs with the two men pulling him along, he couldn't even find himself strong enough to look behind him, into those loving brown eyes that were helping him get through this. He figured maybe she was ashamed of him now.

But there was one weird thing on Nathan's mind: Who had seen them? And plus, who would see them and then call the police? I mean, that's going a bit too far... Nathan could have sworn that when they entered the stairs downstairs before that no one was around to see them. Maybe he had been too naive.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and when they went outside, they were all of a sudden crowded in a sea of people all around, trying to get to their cars.

"Great concert, hun?" Nathan heard a slightly familiar voice saying. He figured the guy wasn't talking to him, but he turned to see him anyway, there was just something about the voice. He turned to find a pair of the most menacing eyes on him. Jared. He had a sort of evil looking smirk on. He seemed greatly amused at the fact that Nathan was being held by the police, but not surprised.

Of course, Nathan thought, how could he be so stupid? Who was the one person that wanted to get back at him the most, and that had the power to do this? Why none other than Jared Gabriel.

xXxXxXx

Down at the station, Nathan was bring interrogated by another police man. He was sick of it. He just wanted to know what he had to do to get out of this, do it, and then be done with it. His mind was racing with what Haley must be thinking at this point, she was waiting in the waiting room right now, and Nathan could hardly concentrate on what the men were saying to him.

"Look, gentlemen, I'm not interested in all the different analysis of what I did, I just want to know what I can do to make it right again." Nathan said.

"Well, Mr. Scott, normally for a crime like the one you just committed the fine would be somewhere roughly around maybe 200 dollars." OK, Nathan thought, I can come up with that much money. "But, since you were still on parole..." Nathan's heart sunk. "The fine rises by quite a lot." He said.

Nathan took some time to process this. He took several deep breaths to clear his head, then swallowed.

"How much?" He asked.

"Probably somewhere around 800 if not a thousand dollars," The police man said. Nathan closed his eyes. How was this happening? In all his life, and all the bad things he had done, he never expected to find himself in such a rut.

"How much time do I have?" Nathan asked, wondering how he was going to tell Haley this, or worse, his mother.

"Well, I can't quite say, but I'd guess about a week." He said.

"A week? No, no, there's no way. Just give me a little more time... please," Nathan said, practically begging now.

"I'm sorry, but it's the law." He said firmly. Nathan sighed, so there was nothing he could do. "You may go now, but we will be paying you some visits. Again, I'm sorry Mr. Scott."

"Yeah, well," Nathan said as he got up to leave, "So am I." He said as he exited the room to go tell Haley the news.

xXxXxXx

Nathan and Haley rode back to him house in silence. Nathan had told her right away about the fine, but since then, both of them were too involved in their own thoughts to talk to one another. Haley was trying to do the math in her head.

"Well, if I can pull an extra shift a day at Karen's Cafe, and if you get an extra shift too..." Haley paused trying to figure out the numbers. But Nathan didn't have hope, he had already tried a million solutions in his head, and none of them worked. "That would still leave us a little short..." Haley said, stumped. She was on the verge of tears. What was going to happen if Nathan couldn't pay the fine, which he probably couldn't? But she was trying to act strong, for Nathan. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry, Nate." She said, still trying to sound confident, but her voice was shaking and Nathan could tell.

"Too late," Nathan said. He couldn't look her in the eye right now, so he just focused on the road ahead. How the hell was he going to get out of this mess? He figured he'd change the subject, sort of. "So, I think I know who called the police..." Nathan started.

Haley turned her head sharply when she heard this. She couldn't wait to hear this. Who would do such a thing? "Who?" She asked.

"OK, don't freak out. There's nothing we can do about it now, OK?" Nathan said, knowing that she would probably freak out anyway.

"OK, I won't." Haley said, but she didn't promise anything. Right now she felt like killing who-ever it was.

"OK, well, remember, I'm not sure if it's him. I just saw him, and it just... kind of seemed like it.. OK? I'm not sure... but I just _think._.." Nathan stuttered.

"Spill it." Haley said impatiently.

Nathan sighed, "I'm pretty sure it was Jared." Haley sat there silent for a while. "Jared Gabriel." Nathan said, making sure she knew who he was talking about.

"I know which Jared you're talking about." Haley said and then she was still silent.

"Hales...?" Nathan said, worried. What was she thinking? "Are you OK?" He asked. By now, they were already parked outside Nathan's house, but they stayed in the car.

Haley couldn't help it, she just started sobbing. "No, I'm not OK, Nathan!" Haley managed to get out. "I'm sorry, I said I wouldn't freak out. But this guy, Jared, he's trying to ruin out lives..." She said and Nathan brought her close and enclosed his arms around her. She sunk her head in his chest and cried into it.

"That'll never happen, Hales. My life can't be ruined as long as you're in it." He said trying to calm her down, but inside he was screaming, he really wanted to kill this Jared guy. "Come on, Hales, don't cry. It'll all work out. I promise." Nathan said, trying to convince himself of this.

Haley pulled away a little. She had calmed her sobs down a little. "How do you know? How are things going to work out?" She asked, helplessly.

"Because as long as you're here by my side, I'll be happy, and everything will be fine. Jared can take whatever he wants from me, but he can never take away my love for you. No one can," Nathan said, gazing lovingly in her eyes.

A small smile crept on Haley's lips and she reached up to kiss him. It was a short, but passionate kiss, just what they needed.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK, I hope you guys liked it! Please reply! thanks so much.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews: chelle2911, jeyton4ever, Paty (wow your review made me so happy. I'm really glad you're reading and liking this story), Nathanlvr, and JmQt831. **

**Chapter 17**

When Haley pulled away from their short, sweet kiss, he just pulled her back in, needing more. All the drama that was going on was all worth these little moments he got with Haley, and he wanted to take advantage of them. Nathan pulled away for a second.

"Maybe we should take this to the back seat?" Nathan suggested. They were still in the car and it was pretty uncomfortable trying to be close but not really being able to. Haley nodded and got out on her side and Nathan got out on his. They got to the back seats and Haley looked at Nathan shyly. He smirked and captured her lips again.

The kiss grew more intense as Haley put her hands on the back of him neck and pulling him closer. She fell backwards and he was not on top of her. He parted her lips with his and their tongues collided putting them in a completely different world. A world with no Jared, no a thousand dollar fine, no parents that disown their daughter. There was just him and her. It was their own world. Their own little corner of the universe.

After a while of simply making out, Nathan's mind started to cloud up. Haley was mesmerizing him, and he wanted her so bad. Since his mind was completely unusable now, he thought with his body. And his body just wanted Haley's. And it's not like Haley didn't want Nathan just as much. She just didn't know if she was ready. Nathan started tugging at the hem of Haley's shirt, which brought her back to the real world for a second and she pulled away slightly.

"Nathan-" Haley said.

"God, I'm sorry, Hales. I wasn't thinking." Nathan interrupted. He knew that she wasn't the type to just have sex in the back-seat of a beat-up car. And Nathan didn't want that for her. She deserved better.

"No, Nathan it's ok. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be so uptight about this. I mean we did already have sex." Haley said. She was really confused. She didn't feel ready. But how could she not be ready for sex, if she had already had sex? I mean, she was drunk, so her mind wasn't exactly there, when it happened. But she didn't regret it. But for some reason she just reached a point with Nathan, where she just couldn't go any further, at least not yet.

Nathan didn't know what to say to that. It was true. But he could understand if she needed some time before they had sex again. He had told her countless time that it wasn't about sex with him, he could wait if that's what she wanted. "Hales, it's ok. I understand. Just 'cause we had sex before, doesn't mean that you're ready to.. you know... continue...?" Nathan stumbled with his words. This wasn't exactly coming out right.

"That sounds about right," Haley said. "I promise, Nathan, one day, I will be fine with it, and ready to have sex with you again. One day soon."

"Ok, Haley, but I don't want you to feel rushed or something," Nathan said sweetly, taking her in his arms again. "It's not about sex with me."

"I know, Thank you." was all Haley said. She reached up and gave him a slow lingering kiss.

xXxXxXx

"Hey mom," Nathan said as him a Haley came into the house.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott," Haley said.

Deb looked tired, and sad. She sighed heavily, making Haley and Nathan think something was really wrong.

"I was just eating dinner, peacefully, when I got a call." She paused. "From the police department." She finished.

Nathan sighed, he had almost forgotten about that whole dilemma. He had sort of wished he could have told his mother before the police got to her, but

alas, they beat him once again.

"Mom, I'm sorry. It was completely innocent. We didn't do anything wrong..." Nathan said.

"You trespassed in the Tree Hill Arena, when you were still on parole! What were you thinking Nathan?" His mother said. The look of pure disappointment was clearly written all over her face, and it tore Nathan's heart apart.

"Mrs. Scott, it was partly my fault too. I was there, and I could have stopped-" Haley started but wasn't able to finish.

"No, Haley, it wasn't your fault at all." Nathan said to Haley, and then back to his mom. "It was my idea, but I had no idea that it was that frowned upon. And even so, who would call the cops just because of that, you know?"

"Jared Gabriel, yes I know, the police men told me about that. But do you really blame him? Or do you forget that not so long ago, you threw a rock through his window?" Deb said. Nathan sighed and looked down at his shoes.

"Mom, I'll figure out a solution. I can come up with the money, you don't need to help me." Nathan said, not so sure of himself, but wanting to sound convincing.

"How? Nathan it's a lot of money. Luckily, I was able to convince to police men that you really are a decent person, and what happened was purely innocent, so they said that they would make and exception and lower the fine that would normally be about 800 dollars, to only 600." Deb said. "How we're going to come up with 600 dollars within a week, is beyond me..." She added.

"Mom, thank you so much for talking to those cops. But I don't want you to worry about this. I'll figure it out, I promise," Nathan said. Deb sighed.

"You better," She said.

xXxXxXx

"Nathan I have an idea," Haley said when him and her were alone in his room. Nathan looked at her and gestured for her to go on. "OK, you might not like it, but hear me out, ok? Just listen to it first." Haley said cautiously.

"OK," Nathan said, getting scared at what she was going to suggest.

"Ok, well... Yes, my parents did kind of disown me. But I know them, and I know that they were sad when I moved out, and I know that they love me. I'm sure that if I just went and asked them, they would definitely help us out." Haley said. She saw that Nathan was about to say something, so she quickly continued. "They have a lot of money, Nate. Six hundred dollars isn't that much for them."

"Hales, I know how you feel about your parents. I know how I feel about your parents. I know how your parents feel about me. It's pretty much mutual hatred all around. They wouldn't help me. I'm sure it hurts you to know this, but deep down you know it's true, they would rather see me behind bars than give me six hundred dollars."

"But maybe if I-" Haley started.

Nathan just shook his head. It would never work. Her parents would never agree, and they both knew that.

"Yeah, you're right." Haley said desperately.

"But I love you for trying to help." Nathan said kissing Haley lovingly on the forehead. "We'll think of something, don't worry..." Nathan said.

"Well, we need to think of something quick, we only have a week." Haley said. "OK, with my salary for this week, minus all the payments for necessities, I might be able to get a hundred dollars. And I'm guessing same goes for you?" Nathan nodded. "So we only need to come up with four hundred dollars. I saw we brainstorm. Here," She said giving him a piece of paper and a pencil, and taking some for herself, "We'll make a list of ideas for fundraisers, or whatever it takes to get money. Then we'll compare our lists and find the best solution." She said.

Nathan smiled. "There's the tutor attitude I fell in love with," He joked. Haley laughed. And they started brainstorming...

xXxXxXx

Haley was still working on her list, and Nathan was kissing her neck. "Nathan, come on, you can't be done yet." Haley said.

"Hales, it's been half an hour. How long is that list gonna be?" He said glancing at her list. His eyes grew wider as he saw that there was almost no blank space on her paper. "How did you come up with so much?" He asked.

Haley glanced at his paper and saw a total of three lines written on there. "Nathan, you could only come up with three ideas?" She said, but she wasn't so sure if he was even paying attention anymore. He was kissing her all over her face and neck. He kissed her cheek, forehead, nose, and finally reached her lips and kissed them in a searing kiss.

"Nathan, kissing isn't going to get us four hundred dollars..." Haley said trying to be the bigger person, but not being able to resist as Nathan deepened the kiss. Then all of a sudden he pulled back and practically jumped up. He was smiling ear to ear.

"That's it!" He said.

"What? What's it?" Haley asked confused, he was acting like a five-year-old. But in a sexy sort of way.

"Hales, you are the most gorgeous girl at school, and let's face it, you've become quite popular lately." He said only confusing Haley more. Where was he going with this? "And you know, I'm not bad looking, right?"

Haley laughed. "Well I don't know. I mean you're not so bad looking. Not if I you know, kind of tilt my head like this" She said tilting her head to the side, "And If I kind of squint..." She said squinting her eyes. "There, no now you're not bad looking at all." She joked.

"Ha-ha, no Hales, I'm serious. If we're both popular and good-looking, and I mean this is High School, everyone is out for the hot popular person. And damn, I know that we're both such great kissers and all," He said as if it were just some normal trait. Like 'Oh hi, I'm Haley, I'm pretty smart, I like to sing, and I'm a great kisser'.

"Nathan, would you please get to the point. You're not making sense at all," She said laughing at how excited he seemed.

"Let's hold a kissing booth." He said.

"A kissing_ booth_? You mean like a booth were you sell coffee, except instead of coffee, you sell a kiss?" Haley asked, totally weirded out by this idea.

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. Look, Haley it'll be a hit. Some people here are super rich, they would definitely not mind paying ten bucks to kiss one of us. I mean to get four hundred dollars we'll only need to kiss like..." He paused trying to do the math, but Haley beat him to it.

"Twenty people each," Haley said quickly. This did seem like a pretty fun idea. One of the things that last year, she would have watched from afar thinking 'I wonder what it would be like to do that?' But it was weird to think of kissing twenty different guys in a row that weren't Nathan. She didn't even know if she had kissed Nathan twenty times yet. She tried to count but then Nathan started talking.

"Yeah, only twenty. Come on, Hales. You know I'm not crazy about the idea of twenty other guys kissing you, but it'll be only for raising money, it would only take one afternoon at school, and it'd be pretty simple and easy. Then we'll pay the fine and everything will be back." Nathan said.

Haley sighed and thought about it for a long time. She finally caved, still having little doubts in her mind. But she figured what the hell? "Ok." Haley said.

"OK?" Nathan repeated.

"Yeah, ok, sure. But those twenty girls that you kiss better not be better kissers than me." Haley said smirking. Nathan put his arms around her.

"Not possible," He whispered sweetly and they shared a sweet, sensual good-night kiss before going to sleep.

xXxXxXx


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Thanks for reviewing to: crazy4fiction, ilvjameslafferty, JmQt831, Lorilozz, Nathanlvr, abonana, and chelle2911. So just so you know I'm leaving for three weeks in two days so hopefully I'll find a computer there to update on, but otherwise, I'll update when I get back! So sorry for the inconvenience!**

**Chapter 18**

Nathan and Haley spent practically the whole weekend working. They were both able to pull extra shifts so that they could get more money. Of course, this meant they were seeing much less of each other, which they weren't exactly happy about.

Haley was getting second thoughts about this whole kissing booth idea. When Nathan had suggested it, it had seemed like a good solution at the time, but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to go through with it. She wasn't looking forward to kissing twenty guys, none of which being Nathan, all in one lunch period. Not so long ago, Haley was a nobody at Tree Hill High. How could she even assume that twenty guys would want to _pay_ to kiss her. Oh, now that thought just made her really nervous. What if Nathan would be sitting there with a line of fifty girls who would pay big money to kiss shim, and Haley would be just there next to him, with no one in front of her? She didn't even want to think about what she would be thinking when seeing Nathan kiss twenty different girls.

xXxXxXx

It was ten o'clock on Sunday night, and Haley was coming home after closing up at the cafe. She had thought about their kissing booth plan for a while, and she decided to tell Nathan that she didn't want to do it, and that they should just think of something else.

She took a deep breath, put the key in the lock, and went inside. She was caught off-guard at how disheveled the kitchen looked. There were papers of all colors, scissors, glue, every arts and crafts known to man basically, all scattered about on the kitchen table. It looked like girl scouts had invaded to made posters for their back sales or something. Then it hit Haley. Oh, no, she thought.

Nathan walked in holding a huge sign. "Ta-da!" he said proudly, like a little kid, as he held up the poster. '_Kissing Booth_' it said in big sparkly letters. It said at the bottom, '_Wednesday, during lunch period visit Nathan and Haley at the kissing booth. $10 a kiss!_'

"Wow," Haley said, for lack of anything better to say. It was so adorable how excited Nathan was about this.

"Yeah, it's cool, hun? I've been working on them for an hour. I made five to put around school tomorrow."

"Wow, Nate. You're really putting a lot of effort into this," Haley said.

"Yeah, well, we kind of need it to all go smoothly, or else I'm screwed," he said, jokingly, but it was true. "Listen, Hales," He said more seriously, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her, "I really appreciate you doing this for me. I mean, kissing twenty people who you barely know? It isn't exactly... appealing. But it's incredible that you're always there for me. If it wasn't for you, who knows where I'd be now. You're amazing, you know that?"

OK, so maybe I could go through with this, Haley told herself. She needed to do it for Nathan.

"Yeah? Try telling that to the other guys at school. I doubt there are many who'd want to pay ten bucks to kiss _me_." Haley admitted.

"Are you kidding?" Nathan said, "I kept imagining you with a line of fifty guys and me all alone," He said chuckling, and then kissing her sweetly on the forehead.

xXxXxXx

Monday morning, Nathan hadn't even put up the posters yet, but as Nathan and Haley walked into Tree Hill High, Haley felt like everyone know, and it was embarrassing her a little. God, relax, she told herself, they do these sorts of fund raisers all the time at high schools.

"Oh me gosh, Nathan, I just thought of something!" Haley said, grabbing his arm in panic. "What if they ask us what the money's for?"

"Oh, you're right," Nathan said, pausing for a moment to think. "Well, why don't we just say we need to pay the rent," Nathan suggested.

"You want people to know we're living together?" Haley asked. She knew how people would take this news and she didn't feel like being gossiped about.

"Of course. I mean, it's nothing to hide. I'm not ashamed or anything. Why? Do you not want them to know?" Nathan asked with concern.

"No, it's not that, but... um..." Haley said, trying to find the right way to say this. "People at this school can get pretty... harsh, when it comes to gossip like that, you know?"

"No, Hales, don't worry about that. Everyone'll only find it adorable that we're in love and living together. I'm sure they'd be glad to help," Nathan said, without any hesitation in his voice.

"OK," Haley said trying to convinced herself that eveything'll be find. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just getting nervous."

Nathan kissed her on the lips, but just briefly because they were at school, but it was enough to clear Haley's head, which is just what she needed. "Don't worry about it," he said calmingly, "Look, I gotta go to class, I'll see you at lunch though." he said, and kissed her quickly again, and then headed down the hall.

xXxXxXx

Haley was waiting for everyone, during her lunch period, at a table alone. Nathan was probably scurrying around the school putting up posters. She guessed that he had already put some up or told some people about it, because as a group of guys passed her earlier, they all blew kisses to her, making her blush. She didn't even know them!

She saw Lucas walking towards her, looking at her a little weirdly. She could tell that he know. He sad down at the table across from her.

"Hey," he said but he said it awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. Haley didn't blame him. If she had heard that Lucas was holding a kissing booth, she would act weird around him, too.

"I'm doing it to help Nathan," Haley said, knowing that he would know what she was talking about.

"And how exactly is kissing other guys for money going to help him?" He asked. Haley made a face, that's not what she meant.

"He needs the money. Look, don't tell anyone, but he-we got in trouble with the cops, and Nathan's still on parole, so we have a fin to pay, and well... we need money." Haley explained. She knew she could trust her best friend with this information.

"You couldn't... I don't know... do a car wash or something?" Lucas said. Haley laughed.

"You think a kissing booth was my idea? No, Nathan just thought it would e easy and effective. It's actually really cute, he's all excited for it," Haley said, smiling.

"So, it was his idea to kiss other girls for money..." Lucas started making it sound really bad. Haley didn't know why he was acting so against this.

"Lucas-" Haley tried to say, but he interrupted her.

"_And_ he's excited about it!" Lucas said. His voice was raised a little more, and he was almost yelling.

"Nathan's not like that. Come on, Lucas you know it's not like that. He loves me," Haley said.

"If he loves you so much, why'd he get you in trouble with the police, hun? Why'd he get you kicked out of your house?" Lucas said angrily. This was getting out of hand; somehow they ended up yelling at each other.

"Hey! I didn't get kicked out of my house. I _left_, because I wanted to! And I didn't get in trouble with the cops, only Nathan did!" Haley yelled. She was outraged at Lucas's behavior to all this. It was just a kissing booth! He would do it too, if he had to pay a fine.

"You guys talking about me?" Haley heard a voice said from behind her. She turned around to see ?Nathan there, looking confused.

xXxXxXx

"Nathan!" Haley yelled after Nathan, who had stormed off, just as Jake, Peyton, Brooke, and Tim had arrived at their table. Haley got up and ran after him.

Lucas sighed. What had he done? He didn't mean to get so mad. He didn't know what had gotten over him. He put his head in his hands and Brooke comfortingly put her hands on his shoulders. She had no idea what was going on, but she could tell it was bad; and all she could do was comfort.

"I messed up, Brooke," Lucas admitted. "I messed up real bad," he said in despair.

"We'll fix it, babe." Brooke said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

xXxXxXx

Meanwhile, Haley was having a hard time keeping up with Nathan. While he was 6'2'' and was talking big steps walking, Haley had to run to catch up.

"Nathan, wait up," Haley said, but Nathan kept on walking. They were now outside, in front of the school building. "Come on." Haley said and Nathan stopped abruptly, catching Haley off guard and making her run right into him.

"I thought we agreed to to tell people," Nathan said, but he wasn't yelling. In fact he was almost whispering. Like he wasn't mad at Haley, but just disappointed.

"We did. I know, and I'm sorry," Haley said looking at the ground. "I only told Lucas, I swear. He's my best friend, I know he won't tell anyone." Haley said. Nathan didn't say anything. "At least, he _was_ my best friend. I don't even know anymore."

"What happened?" Nathan asked. He was still a little upset, but it was slowly leaving, and he couldn't help being concerned about Haley.

"I don't know. All of a sudden he got all weird. He acted like this whole kissing booth was like... a lesser thing for me to do or something. And then he started talking about you and how you're-"

"Getting you into trouble." Nathan finished for her. Of course, he thought. Nathan like Lucas, but of course the best friend protective shield was going to get in the way eventually. "I can see why he would think that. I mean, honestly Haley, he might be right."

"What? No, Nathan. I love you. If I didn't want you in my life than you wouldn't be in it. I've never been as happy as I have been since we got together." Haley said, frankly. It was the honest truth, and she hoped Nathan knew that. He didn't say anything, but Haley swore she saw a hint of a smile on his lips. "I'm sorry I told Lucas. Are you mad?" Haley said softly.

"No, I'm not mad," Nathan whispered as he pulled Haley close. "I just wish you could have asked me before." Haley nodded. Nathan kissed her on the top of her head. They stayed there for a while, not saying a word; just holding each other; needing each other.

xXxXxXx

**AN: I'm hoping I'll be able to update before three weeks, but incase I can't, I'm really really sorry. Hopefully you guys will still be interested when I come back! Thanks so much for reading. Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Hey guys! So sorry for the long wait, I was away for three weeks, but now I'm back and am going to update more frequently. Thanks to: Nathanlvr, JmQt831, ilvjameslafferty, and chelle2911 for all the great reviews and for sticking with me!**

**Chapter 19: The Kissing Booth**

It was Wednesday, the day of the kissing booth. And although a million insecurities were going through Haley's head, she couldn't help but be excited for it. After all, it was supposed to be _fun_.

Lucas and Haley had been pretty much ignoring each other. They had done this many times before, fight and then ignore each other. Because they had been best friends since elementary school, they had gotten into a lot of fights. Normally, Haley would always feel bad and apologize, even if it wasn't her fault. But this time was different. This time, she was waiting for Lucas to apologize to_ her_. Not understanding why she had to do the kissing booth was one thing. But basically saying Nathan was ruining her life? The was one thing that Haley wasn't going to let go.

Lucas knew he needed to apologize to Haley. He knew that he should have done it a while ago, but for some reason he just couldn't do it. He was about to walk up to her in the hall to talk to her, but right then Nathan came up. He figured he'd just wait for a better time.

xXxXxXx

It turns out there was no better time. The moment the lunch bell rang, Nathan and Haley already sat behind a table that they put in the gym, and already the lines were started to form in front of them. Haley tried to smile to Nathan, but he saw that she was nervous. He mouthed 'I love you' to her, and she seemed to relax a little, and mouthed it back. Some of the girls that had witnessed the seen in Nathan's line, gushed at how cute they were, and others just glared at Haley, but she didn't care. When the gym was almost full, Nathan stood up on his chair, and everyone shut up.

"Ok, everyone, listen up." Nathan shouted to the crowd. Everyone, of course, was already listening, but it just sounded like something he should say. "Alright, here's the deal: It's ten dollars a kiss. And when I say kiss, I mean peck." There were a couple unhappy groans in the crowd. "Haley and I are only going to kiss twenty people each, so if you're in line and you can tell that there are twenty or more people in front of you, than I suggest you do something else with your lunch period." A couple more groans here and there were heard. "OK, and then there's the basics: no pushing, shoving, name-calling, etc..." Nathan said this last part a little jokingly, but even if he had said it seriously he knew that they would have taken it as a joke anyways. "Ok, so, I guess that's all." He said, getting down and sitting on his chair. It took all the strength Haley had in her, not to get up right then ad run out of the gym.

xXxXxXx

A couple of minutes later, Nathan and Haley had already kissed about five people each, and had collected in all about a hundred dollars. Not bad for a couple of minutes. The people they had kissed, so far, were all pretty much strangers. But Haley couldn't help feeling a little twinge of jealousy when she looked over and saw random girls batting their fake eyelashes at Nathan, who acted like he didn't even notice and once in a while would flash a reassuring smile in Haley's direction.

Haley was brought back to reality, by someone putting down a ten dollar bill on the table under her nose. She looked up to see who the guy was.

"Lucas?" She asked, shocked and a little bit annoyed. Last she heard they were fighting. Why would he want to kiss her? Even if they weren't fighting... that would be like kissing your brother.

"I'll give you ten bucks if you just hear me out," He said looking apologetic. Haley didn't say anything, she just stared at him waiting for him to talk. "Look, I said some things... I don't know why I... I guess I just... I didn't mean..." Lucas said, stumbling with his words, amusing Haley a little, but she didn't smile, she was still mad at him an she wanted him to know that.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said finally.

"Hey, jackass," Said some guy in the line. "Some of us are waiting, here!" He yelled. Gosh, thought Haley, some people sure can be rude. She wasn't looking forward to kissing _that_ guy.

"Yeah, one second," Lucas yelled back and then turned his attention back to Haley. "Look, Hales, all that stuff I said, I really didn't mean it. It just... I guess it just took me by surprise. I mean the old Haley wouldn't have done a kissing booth."

"I still don't see what's wrong with it." Haley said.

"Nothing," Lucas quickly said, "Nothing's wrong with it. I was just in shock, so I said a bunch of stuff that I didn't mean and that I feel terrible about now." He said honestly. "I think it's great that you're helping Nathan out. And I know that he's not getting you into trouble and all that. I know that what you guys have it... special and great, I'm really happy for you." He said. Haley wasn't sure what to think of this. She could tell that he really was sorry.

"It's just..." She said, "It's just hard for me, to have my best friend disapprove of my boyfriend."

"Hales, I don't disapprove!" Lucas said. "Look, I'll prove it to you. I'll... I'll hang out with him. If he wants to, obviously. We can play ball or something..." Lucas suggested. Haley thought about this for a moment. But she could never really stay mad at Lucas. She broke out a smile.

"Okay." she said.

"Okay?" Lucas asked, making sure everything was cool.

Haley nodded and said, "You're not going to... kiss me or anything... are you?" She joked and made a face.

Lucas just laughed and walked away. Haley smiled as she heard a couple "finaly"s from the line of guys in front of her.

xXxXxXx

Nathan was surprised to see Brooke and Peyton arrive in front of him together and each slap down a ten dollar bill on the table. He gave them a weird look. They were his close friends, and they both did have boyfriends. Before he could ask what they were doing, Brooke spoke.

"OK, Nate," She said, "Twenty bucks for the real reason for this kissing booth."

"What?" Nathan asked, confused.

"Oh _please_..." Peyton said, "You don't expect us to believe that 'we need money for rent' thing, do you? What's the real reason?"

"Look, you guys, it's kind of-" Nathan started.

"Hey, if you don't tell us, we'll just have to believe that rumor that you got arrested and have to pay a fine." Brooke said in a tone that told Nathan that she already knew that that was the truth. Nathan didn't say anything and Brooke and Peyton took that as a confirmation that they were right.

"Oh, Nate," Peyton said with a sigh, and shaking her head, "What are we going to do with you?"

"Look, it was a completely innocent, victim-less crime," Nathan said, defending himself. "And, where did you hear about that?"

"It's kind of... all around school." Brooke said, not sure if he would be mad about this or not. It's not like the people in the school were really shocked by the rumor; it was a typical Nathan-like thing to do, getting arrested. Nathan sighed.

"Oh well..." He said. He didn't really care that it was out there, he was just worried that Haley would. "Thanks for telling me. And... sorry for not telling you guys." He said. Brooke and Peyton nodded and walked off.

xXxXxXx

Right when Haley was thinking that this whole kissing booth idea wasn't so bad, and she was telling herself that everything was going well, she realized that she had thought too soon. She saw Jared approaching, pushing his way though the crowd and completely cutting everyone in line and ended up right in front of Haley. He had some girl on his arm who was chewing bubble-gum unnecessarily loudly.

"What do you want?" Haley asked, not in the mood to talk to Jared.

"This is so cute," Bubble-gum girl said, in an annoying high-pitched voice. "I mean, it's like a cute... kissing booth." She said, making Haley wonder if people could really be _that_ stupid, or if she was just faking.

Haley looked up at the huge sign above them that read 'KISSING BOOTH' and then back at the girl, "Hmmm," She said, "I hadn't noticed." She said sarcastically, although the girl didn't seem to notice her sarcastic tone.

"I mean, it's so sweet how you're still willing to help him out, after he got, you know, _arrested_." She said, saying 'arrested' in a whisper. Haley tried not to act shocked, but she really was.

"How do you know about that?" She asked, before she even realized that she was with Jared. The guy who had arranged for Nathan to get arrested in the first place.

"It's all around school," said Jared. Haley almost yelled _It's WHAT?_ but she contained herself, and tried to act like she didn't care.

"I mean," the girl said. "You must be such a great girlfriend to do all this for him. And you don't even mind that there are so many girls that give him so much attention. I mean, they're like _obsessed_." She said, making Haley nervous. Girls were obsessed with Nathan? "I didn't even know you guys were together." Bubble-gum girl continued, "I mean, I don't really hang out with you, but with Nathan, it doesn't really seem like he's taken. I mean, he doesn't really act like he had a girlfriend." She said in a way that made Haley just want to slap her.

This was one of those times where Haley wished she was one of those people that could think of witty comebacks to say right away. But, unfortunately, she wasn't one of those people. She was more of a stutter as you speak, or just don't speak at all types of people.

"What do you mean?" She said, not bothering to hide her annoyance from her voice.

"Hey, don't get _mad_ or anything. I was just saying..." said the girl. Haley concluded that yes, this girl, was just that stupid, she wasn't faking. I mean, look who she was with.

"Whatever," Haley said, not wanting to deal with these people right now. "You guys are holding up the line. So, if you could just-" She couldn't say another word or do another thing before Jared crashed his lips to hers, hard but not long, not long enough for Haley to push him away. Before she could say anything he just slapped down a twenty dollar bill on the table and walked off with the girl, who was laughing. (Haley didn't know why, the guy she was with had just kissed some other girl right in front of her. What a bimbo.)

"Hey! It's only ten dollars!" Haley yelled after him, but he pretended not to have heard her. "I don't want your charity!" She yelled. But she kept the money anyway.

xXxXxXx

**AN: OK, I hope you guys liked it! Again, so sorry for the long wait. Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews to: jeyton4ever, Nathanlvr, crazy4fiction, chelle2911, and beautyshell45.**

**Chapter 20**

Soon after, Nathan and Haley had both gotten all the money they needed. Haley ended up only having to kiss nineteen guys because Lucas had given her ten bucks and Nathan had ended up kissing eighteen because both Brooke and Peyton had given him ten dollars. They ended it, surprisingly with still five minutes left for their lunch period. Haley was still fuming from her encounter with Jared, and it didn't go unnoticed by, well, everyone. But mostly Nathan.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked worried, when they were finally alone. Haley looked up at him and one long look into his deep blue eyes made all her anger somehow slip away.

"Yeah," Haley said, which wasn't exactly the whole truth. And she knew that Nathan saw right through her. "Okay, well not really..." She admitted.

"Is it 'cause of Jared?" He asked, knowing the answer already, but feeling that he should ask anyway. He couldn't help it, but just at the sound of Jared's name and the idea that he annoyed Haley, made Nathan a little angry.

"You saw that?" Haley asked, referring to her little outburst at Jared earlier at the kissing booth.

"I'm sorry to say it, but I think pretty much the whole school saw that..." Nathan said. Haley sighed, but had to laugh a little at it. It was pretty ironic. The shy girl, having a remarkable fit over Jared. Of course, one of the only times in her life when she actually got very mad, the whole school had to be there to witness it. Great. "What happened?" Nathan asked.

Haley and Nathan sat down a a bench. "Jared showed up, and you know, he was just being himself. And normally I would have just ignored him, but it's just the thought that he's the reason we got into this mess in the first place. And then he had to go and kiss me, and I just snapped. Plus, of course his little girl-toy had to make stupid remarks about you acting like we weren't together-" Haley said.

"Wait, what?" Nathan interrupted. "She said what?" Haley didn't want to get more upset over some people that she didn't even care about. She didn't want to let what that girl had said to her affect her, but it already did.

"Well, she was just being an idiot, you know?" Haley said not really wanting Nathan to know what she had said. She felt a little stupid being the jealous girlfriend who always complained to her boyfriend.

"No, Hales, tell me what she said," Nathan said, softly not trying to demand her or anything, but he needed to set the record straight. Whatever that girl had said it had obviously made Haley feel bad, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Haley took a deep breath. "Well, she was saying that it was really great of me to be okay with girls being obsessed with you..." Haley said trying to sound casual about it, but not succeeding very well. "And that she never knew that we were together, 'cause you never acted like it."

Nathan knew that he was popular, and that, okay he could admit it, some girls flirted with him a lot. But this girl was seriously making this up. Nathan never even hung out with that girl, what did she know about him? The thing was, Nathan was used to getting attention from girls, he just never expected those girls to bag on Haley, that was going a little too far.

"Hales, look. It's-" Nathan started saying.

"And you know Nathan, it's fine." Haley said, unconvincingly. "I mean, I didn't expect you to you know, like yell at the top of your lungs that your dating the class-brain. I completely understand if you don't want people to know we're dating." Haley lied. Even though she tried to convince herself of this, inside she was crying.

"Hales-" Nathan tried to get another word in but it didn't work.

"Really Nathan. I mean just because all _my_ friends seem to know we're dating, and I mean we _are_ living together, but-" Haley said.

"Hales, listen to me." Nathan said, hating to have to interrupt her but she was talking nonsense now. Haley finally decided to shut up and give her attention to Nathan, scared as hell at what he was going to say. "That girl, that talked to you, whoever she is, I don't care, the point it, Hales, she's full of crap." Nathan said, and Haley didn't say anything so he continued. "All those girls that she says are 'obsessed' with me, who gives a damn? I mean during the kissing booth, I was looking over at your side and the sight of all those horny guys just lusting after you, I have to admit, made me kind of jealous. But I won't let that get to me, you know why?"

Haley shook her head, no. "Because," Nathan continued, cupping Haley's face in his hands, "I have you. And I love you. And I trust you. And you know what? You have me and you can trust me, and love me. I can scream it on the roof tops, at the top of my lungs if that'll make you feel better, but Hales, I'm not going anywhere. No matter how many girls want to date me, or how many people get in our way." Nathan said. "Jared's a jackass, that's just who he is. Just don't let him get to you; let him live his life, and we'll live ours." A single tear ran down Haley's cheek, and she bit her lip to stop her from letting another.

"Nathan... I didn't mean... I mean I just..." Haley said, not really able to express what she was feeling. "I didn't mean to make a big deal about it. I do trust you and I do love you, with all my heart." she said leaning in and kissing him intensely. Nathan tried to express all his love into that kiss to reassure her that he was all in.

xXxXxXx

After school, Haley had tutoring to she said she's meet up with Nathan back at his house. Surprisingly, Lucas had kept his word, and had invited Nathan to go play ball with him after school, making Haley happy. Haley's tutoring session ended a little earlier than she had predicted so she decided to stop by Echo Park, her sacred place, before going home. She hadn't been there in a while, and she just felt like she needed some alone and quiet time to relieve herself of all her worries about Jared and about Nathan.

She walked down those familiar streets, she even passed by her old house forcing herself to look at it. It hadn't changed. There was a blue sports car parked in front of it. She wondered if her parents had bought a new car. She wondered if her parents were even there. What were they doing? Maybe they were thinking about her? Wondering how she was doing? She almost went up and knocked on the door but she stopped herself. She had walked away from that life.

She arrived at Echo Park, which was completely deserted. She sat on the grass, legs crossed, and tried to just breath and relax. She even tried closing her eyes to see if that would maker her get a better hold on her thoughts. Wait a second, she thought. Jared owns a blue sports car, she thought. Oh, no. She got up quickly and ran back in the direction of her house, not even hesitating before knocking fast on the door.

Jack, the house butler who was normally only there on special occasions, opened the door. "Ah, Madame Haley, so nice to see you." Haley and Jack had always gotten along pretty well. Haley gave him a warm smile and a hug, but she was kind of in a rush so she walked in quickly and looked into the living room. She saw her father and, like she had guessed, Jared talking in there. Her mother, Haley assumed, must have been in the kitchen. She didn't bother announce herself or even greet them.

"Jared, what on earth are you doing here?" Haley asked. She didn't feel like getting very angry for a second time today, especially to the same person, but she didn't think she had a choice.

"Oh, Haley," Jared said with a smile. "We were just talking about you." He said looking at Haley's father, who looked surprised to see Haley, but he didn't let on any other expression.

"Yeah, I figured you would be." Haley replied bitterly. Who did he think he was? Talking to _her_ parents about her. "Can someone please tell me what this is all about?" Haley asked, just as her mother arrived in the room.

"Haley," She said, but she didn't seem unhappy about seeing her but not happy either, just surprised. "We weren't expecting you to drop by."

"Neither was I," Haley answered. "I just want to know what Jared's up to."

"Haley, do now jump to conclusions. Jared had just asked, out of politeness, how you were doing." Haley's father said. "His reason for stopping by has nothing to do with you." He said and Jared nodded.

"Oh yeah?" Haley said not buying this. "What's it about then, hun?" She asked and this time it was Jared who answered.

"My father sent me here," He said, "He is considering taking on Mr. James here as his business partner. Of course, he is a very busy man, so he sent me here to do the negotiations." He said and Haley felt her heart sink.

"And that's where I come in?" Haley asked, fearing the answer. She knew that her parents were disappointed in Haley, but they were still her parents, and Haley guessed that they would want her back to live with them. Probably more to help their reputation than for their actual pleasure. Of course, if Haley moved back in with them, they would never let her see Nathan, which of course, is the main reason why Jared cared in the first place. Jared's father was the only man in all of Tree Hill more wealthy than Haley's father, and Mr. James would do anything to attain that power. And this was his chance.

"Haley, honey, your father and I regret the way we left things," Haley's mother said. "We won't make you go to the boarding school. We miss you, Haley, and you are far too young to be living with a boyfriend." It was obvious that she had to force herself to use that word. "Let alone, Nathan Scott."

"You want me to move back in with you? No way!" Haley yelled and she ran out the door as quickly as possible and ran and ran all the way back to Echo Park. What kind of family was so messed up? They had the money to buy anything in the world, yet they were so dysfunctional. And this just made it an even bigger mess. How did Jared get such a firm hold on Haley's life? This wasn't happening...

xXxXxXx

A couple minutes later, Haley still felt as enraged as she did before, and to make matters worse, she could hear footsteps behind her. Knowing that her parents would never step foot in a _public_ park, that meant that it could only be Jared, the last person she wanted to see, let alone talk to.

"Haley, stop being so selfish." He said.

"Oh, you should talk!" Haley yelled and turned around to face him. "Is your life really so pathetic, that you have to go and ruin mine?"

"I'm not doing this to ruin your life, Haley, I'm doing it to make it better." He said, calmly.

"And how do you figure that?"

"Haley, you're going to wake up one morning and realize you're in the wrong place. Your young and naive now and you think you can do anything you want now, but that's not true. You were born to be one of us, Haley, you can't be a bird but try to live in the sea, it just doesn't work that way." He said.

"What are you talking about? I have never been as happy as I am now when I was living in that house with my parents! You can't make me live there, you think I care if my father gets to be business partners with yours? 'Cause I don't!" Haley said, her throat starting to hurt from all the yelling.

"You can say that now. But you know, Haley. You're going to regret being with Nathan for so long, if you don't end it soon. And if you don't end it soon, than trust me, he will. Now, I can guarantee you, that by next week, you'll be broken up with Nathan and living back with your folks. I tend to get what I want, Haley, that's one thing you should know about me." He said that and then walked away. Haley would have loved to run up to him and punch him in the face, but she was too buys drowning in her sorrow. She was a prisoner of her own life. If she stayed with Nathan, Jared would do _anything_ in his power to break them apart, and the things he could do to Nathan just made her stomach ache. But if she went to live with her parents, Jared would leave Nathan alone, yes, but she would never be allowed to see him again.

Haley burst into tears, crashing to her shaking knees and buried her face in her hands, with just one sentence that Jared had said running through her mind: _And if you don't end it soon, than trust me, he will._


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Thanks for the wonderful reviews to: jeyton4ever, Nathanlvr (that arranged marriage thing sounds so cool. Unfortunately this story's already all written. I hope you like how it plays out anyways, lol.), Liz457, and chelle2911. You guys have no idea how happy it makes me to see that you are enjoying this story. Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews, they mean a lot to me!**

**Chapter 21**

_Where we love is home,_

_Home that our feet may leave,_

_But not our hearts. Oliver Wendell Holmes _

Home. _Home._ The word followed Haley around all the way to Nathan's house. She thought of it as though it was rocket science. Dissecting the word and it's meaning, and wondering about it. She asked herself what her true home was. Is home where the heart is? And in that case, where is Haley's heart? The big house that she grew up in. The one she has been invited back to. It never felt like a home to Haley. But was it ultimately her home?

Another string of thoughts like those crossed Haley's mind as she finally came to the conclusion that home is where she loves the most. And no maternal, or paternal bond that she had with her parents could outlast her love for Nathan. Her heart did and always will reside with him. Her home, her real home, was with Nathan, not with her parents.

And it was that same string of thoughts that convinced Haley that she could never end things with Nathan to move back with her parents so her dad could get a partnership with Jared's father. She knew that Jared would pressure her more, and it might be very hard to fight him, but whatever was to come, it would be easier to fight him off with Nathan by her side.

She finally reached Nathan's house and let out a reassured breathe. What a relief, she thought, if this isn't my home, than it definitely feels comfortable enough to be. She got inside and found that it was empty. The clock read seven o'clock. That was weird, she knew that Nathan's mom was working and Nathan and Lucas were suppose to hang out after school but she didn't expect it to last that long. It was their first time hanging out and Haley was really nervous that they might get into a fight or something but since they had been hanging out now for three hours, Haley guessed that everything must be going rather well.

xXxXxXx

After about five minutes of thinking only of Nathan, she decided to call him, just to see what him and Lucas were up to. She went to the home phone and dialed his cell phone number she knew by heart.

"Hello?" He answered after the first ring.

"Hey! Where are you?" Haley asked, trying not to sound like the worried-girlfriend or anything.

"I'm still with Lucas at the River Court, why?" Nathan asked then looked at his watch. "Oh, man. Sorry, Hales, we completely lost track of time."

"That's OK," Haley said relieved that nothing bad had happened. "So you and Luke are really getting along, hun?" Haley said with a smile. Her best friend and boyfriend becoming friends... this could either be a very good thing, or something to be careful about, thought Haley.

"Uh, yeah I guess." Nathan said. The truth was Lucas was actually a really cool guy. Him and Nathan were pretty different, but they did have two main things in common. The love for basketball, and the need to be close to Haley. Nathan knew that Lucas had Haley's best intentions in mind and Lucas knew the same about Nathan, making them both respect each other quite a bit.

"OK, well when will you be back?" Haley asked, anxious to see him. She was still feeling a little- well, a lot- sad about what had happened, and she needed to see Nathan and kiss him and tell him she loved him.

"Soon. I'll leave right now. Sorry I kept you waiting, Hales. I love you." He said and then hung up.

xXxXxXx

Haley spent the next ten minutes just sitting in the same place, waiting for Nathan to walk through the front door. But she figured there must be traffic or something, and if she sat still doing nothing for a minute longer she would probably go crazy with all the thoughts running through her head.

So she got up and went into her room, and before she knew it, she was feeling very tired. All the emotions and drama that had happened that day just overwhelmed her. She lied down on her bed and shut her eyes and fell fast asleep. Something about crying just puts you to sleep like a baby.

xXxXxXx

About an hour later, she woke up to the sound of the front door opening and closing. She woke up and rubbed her eyes. They were still a little puffy from crying a couple hours earlier. She looked at the clock that read 8:07 p.m. OK, she knew it didn't take an hour to get from the River Court to here. Maybe Nathan had come home while she was asleep and this was his mother. Although, Haley distinctly remembered his mother saying that she would be back around ten.

Curious, Haley get out of her room and went to see that sure enough, it was Nathan who just got back.

"Nathan, what's going on? Why'd it take you so-" Haley said but she stopped abruptly when he turned around. Haley gasped. Nathan had a bruise right under his eye and his lip was bleeding. Haley's hand covered her mouth in shock. "Nathan, what happened?" She barely whispered.

"Um... nothing," Nathan lied. He had just had a really bad time. Not because of Lucas though...

Haley looked at him weirdly. "Nothing? Nathan, look at yourself. Tell me the truth, Lucas didn't...?" Haley asked, not being able to finish the question.

"No, Hales, Lucas didn't hurt me. It's just, well... I got the basketball hit in my face when I wasn't paying attention, that's all," Nathan said avoiding her eyes. He didn't want to lie to her, he hated liars and did not want to become one, but it was to protect Haley. He didn't want to burden her with his problems. When he finally looked Haley in the eye, he noticed that her eyes were all puffy, from crying no doubt. "Hales," He said concerned, "What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"No," Haley lied. If he was going to lie to her about his injuries than she was going to lie to him about her crying. Besides, she didn't know if she wanted to tell Nathan all about her parent's deal with Jared, it would just make him feel uncomfortable. She had already made her decision, to stay with Nathan, she didn't need to drag him into the whole issue.

"Why are you lying to me?" Nathan asked, but not out of anger, just out of concern. If something was making Haley cry, Nathan wanted to fix it. And if some_one_ was making her cry, than Nathan wanted to beat the crap out of them.

"Why are _you_ lying to _me_?" Haley asked, looking up at his beautiful blue eyes that for some reason, seemed darker than when she had last seen him. Nathan sighed. She was right. They had already agreed to be completely honest in their relationship, and for it to work they had to be. But Nathan was not prepared for this. His whole life he got in trouble and danger, but he had no idea how hard just going out with Haley James might be.

"OK, I'll tell you," Nathan said, "I just got off the phone with you and...

**FLASHBACK**

_"I love you," Nathan said into the phone right before hanging up. Haley had sounded weird on the phone. Not bad or anything, just anxious maybe. To see him. And the truth was he wanted to see her too. He wasn't used to spending a whole three hours not seeing her, not counting when he was asleep, because she always occupied his dreams. But he was spending a great after-noon just shooting hoops and talking to Lucas that he didn't even notice how much he missed her until she had called._

_Lucas was about to say some comment on his 'I love you' to Haley. Of course, it was nothing that Lucas hadn't said to Brooke, but still, it was a guy's job to make fun of another guy for saying it. But someone beat him to it._

_"Awww, how cute," Someone behind them spat out sarcastically. Nathan gritted his teeth and turned around, not surprised to see Jared standing there, the guy who held most of Nathan's hate. Lucas barely knew the guy, but he just recognized him as the guy that Haley got mad at at the kissing booth. Just one look at him and Lucas could tell that he was a brat._

_"What do you want?" Nathan asked, impatiently. "Other than my girlfriend." He added just to piss him off._

_"Look man, you can bag me all you want, but let Haley go." Jared said. He was wearing his designer sunglasses, as usual, and his face was one you just wanted to punch._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked._

_"It means, you're keeping her from the life she was meant to live. Haley has potential to do great things that her family can offer her, but because of you, she can't do them. She has a chance to mend her mistakes and move back in with her parents and have the better life she was born into, but you're standing in the way of that." Jared said. Nathan had to say, he was surprised by this news, but he didn't show it. For all he knew, Jared could be lying._

_"Right, like you care about Haley and what she could accomplish. All you want is for me to be out of the way so you can get with her," Nathan spat at him, "Well I've got news for you, a$$hole, she doesn't like lying, cheating, smug bastards like you." He said._

_"As opposed to what? Poor, good-for-nothing losers like you?" Jared replied. "Look I'll say it one more time: Break up with Haley."_

_"Or you'll do what?" Nathan taunted. While Jared was six-feet tall and not tiny, Nathan was six-foot-two, and could hold up in a fight way longer than he could. Jared lunged himself at Nathan punching away at his face and gut, and Nathan was surprised at his strength. Lucas, who had just been watching their conversation decided that now would be the right time to intervene so he tried to get in the middle of them and break it up, succeeding, but receiving a couple of hits himself. In the end, Nathan turned out in better condition than Jared, as he had expected, but not by much. And Nathan knew that Jared had connections. If there were a 'next time' than Jared would definitely be able to find someone to beat Nathan._

_"You need to get lost!" Yelled Lucas to Jared. Jared spat out some blood on the floor, smirked and then walked away. And Nathan swore he heard him laughing, which was a pretty stupid thing to do considering he just lost the fight._

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Haley stood still for a moment, not wanting to believe her ears, but knowing that it was true. She reached up and touched Nathan's face where he had been hit. Nathan winced a little at her touch, and Haley bit her lip to stop the tears that had formed in her eyes from falling.

"I really hate that guy," Haley whispered as one single tear rolled down her cheek. That was all she could say. "Let's get you cleaned up," She managed to add. They walked to the bathroom and Haley got out the first aid kit. She cleaned up his face and neither of them said a word.

When she was done, Haley asked, "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Nathan looked up at her sweetly.

"You could kiss me..." He said softly. He knew it was a corny line, but it was the one thing he wanted more than anything. Haley looked down at the cut on his lip.

"Won't it hurt you?" She asked.

"The only thing that could hurt me right now is if you reject me." Nathan said with a smile, making Haley's heart melt. Haley took his face in her hands and kissed him ever-so-lightly on the lips to not hurt him. But he grabbed her waist before she could pull away, and intensified the kiss. His cut hurt like hell, but it was worth it.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Thanks for the wonderful reviews to: Liz457, jeyton4ever, Michaela, Nathanlvr (I'm really sorry to hear about your brother, and so glad to hear that at least reading my story has helped. I hope that it continues to help!), and chelle2911! so this chapter is all Naley fluff, to take a break from all the drama. But don't worry, the drama will be back! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 22**

The light seeped through the curtains at around six o'clock in the morning the next day, making Haley's eyes flutter open. She took in her surroundings as she did every morning, and finally realized where she was, and what had happened yesterday. A bad day, followed by a beautiful evening. She turned around- quite a hard task to pull, when she was tightly enveloped in Nathan's loving arms- and faced a sleeping Nathan.

He looked so adorable, perfectly, peacefully asleep, with a very light smile on his face. Soon after, he woke up too, it had been a while sense he had woken up smiling. And as soon as he opened his eyes to see Haley looking, smiling at him, his smile widened by a mile. Haley's heart skipped a beat, in a good way, when he lowered his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.

They kissed for a while, just kissed, and then Nathan finally pulled away, for the need of air, and the need to talk to Haley. Haley gazed into his deep blue eyes, that were no-longer the dark color they had been yesterday after his run-in with Jared, the were now the bright, vivid blue that Haley loved.

"Haley about last night-" Nathan started saying, with a serious tone, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Nathan I told you already: It was my choice, what_ I_ wanted." Haley said clearly, no hesitation or hint of regret in her voice.

"Yes, but that could have been just in the heat of the moment," Nathan said, wanting to make sure.

"Well, I'm saying it again, now. I love you, and this is what I wanted, and I will never regret it ever. It made me happy, there is no where I would rather be, than right here in your arms," Haley said firmly. She inched closer to Nathan, if that was even possible, and kissed his bare shoulder, which was where her head reached at that moment.

"I love you too," Was all Nathan said. The way this girl made him feel, it was like nothing he ever felt before. She had changed his whole life, his whole perspective on things, all these years of putting himself first, all of a sudden that changed and he was putting Haley before everything. She was his number one priority in life, and the only thing he really needed to survive. If she were even taken away from him, his heart would break, and he wouldn't be able to live. The thought that something could come between then and the fact that there were so many people that wanted them apart, just scared him to death. Last night, was all he needed to restore his faith that him and Haley could make it though anything.

**FLASHBACK TO LAST NIGHT**

_Haley took his face in her hands and kissed him ever-so-lightly on the lips to not hurt him. But he grabbed her waist before she could pull away, and intensified the kiss. His cut hurt like hell, but it was worth it. Haley's heart beat faster, her head was spinning, she had butterflies in her stomach. It was just like when they had first kissed that day at Echo Park. And Haley all of a sudden wanted more. She felt more mature, more ready. _

_They had already had sex one time, at Brooke's party, but that was different. Haley had been drunk and it was somewhat a mistake, Haley didn't feel that she was ready. She would cringe or feel uncomfortable every time someone would mention sex. But now she wasn't afraid of it at all. _

_So after a couple minutes of making out, Haley pulled away only to notice the same need and wanting and love in Nathan's eyes that Haley held in her heart, and she pulled her shirt over her head._

_"Haley-" Nathan said._

_"It's OK, Nathan. I... I'm ready," Haley said, hesitating at first, but then stated what she was thinking. She wanted him, she wanted him badly. And she could tell that he wanted her. And more importantly, that he loved her, just as much as she loved him, meaning that he would never make her regret it, not for a second._

_"Hales, are you sure? We can wait-" Nathan said, seriously. He wanted to more than anything, and he would never do anything for Haley to feel bad about it, but he didn't want to pressure her. She did sound a little hesitant, and he would rather wait until she was positive that she wanted to. His heart was still racing from before and it wasn't going to slow down anytime soon, but he kept his mind straight._

_"I'm sure," Haley said, not hesitating this time, just speaking from the heart, "Come here," She said sexily and pulled him down for his lips to meet hers again for another breath-taking kiss._

_And so, tongues battling it out, hearts racing, clothes being discarded, they made their way, without detaching from the mouth, to Nathan's bedroom. Haley pulled away for a second when she noticed Nathan wince after she touched his stomach. She looked there and gasped at what she saw. From where Jared had beaten him, he had huge red marks and bruises. She touched his stomach lightly brushing it._

_"Nathan..." She whispered. She couldn't believe how much he had hurt him. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how selfish I'm being. I'm so sorry, Nathan. Wow, I'm such an idiot, you're really hurting right now, I should just let you rest." Haley said really fast, feeling ashamed. Still panting, she got up quickly, but Nathan grabbed her arm and stopped her from going any further._

_"Wait, Hales," Nathan said, "Stay... please..." He said softly and honestly looking her in the eye. "I need you... I want you..."_

_Haley stood there, looking at him. Didn't it hurt him? Well, obviously it hurt him since he had winced, but did he really want her that badly? "Nathan, it's ok, we can do this another-"_

_"I don't know if I can wait," Nathan answered truthfully. Once he got the idea in his head that they were going to do it tonight, he couldn't exactly get it out. "Please, Hales... I mean, if it's still OK with you...?" Haley considered this. Then she smiled and climbed back in his bed and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back with a strength you wouldn't think could come out of a guy that had just been in a fight, making Haley's knees weak. And soon, the feeling and anticipation that they had both felt moments earlier had returned. They made love time and time again, leaving them both exhausted and asleep by ten p.m., before Nathan's mom even got home from work._

**END OF FLASHBACK**

It was Saturday, so Nathan and Haley were in no rush getting up that morning. Nathan had fallen back asleep, but once Haley woke up, she stayed awake. So she took a shower, got dressed and went out for a quick run, leaving Nathan a note on her pillow.

For her whole four-mile run, Haley held a smile on her face. However hard she tried, it would not go away. She even tried worrying about Jared and what he would do next, but even that didn't do it. She just kept thinking about what a poor bastard he was, and how she felt sorry for him because he would never have the love that her and Nathan shared.

--

Nathan woke up alone, to his disappointment. He rolled over and felt something make a noise beneath him. He got up to see that he had rolled onto a note, that he noticed was from Haley. He couldn't help but smile as he read it.

_Nate,_

_I hope I didn't wake you. I just went out for a run. You're mom left for a meeting or something, said she'll be back for dinner. I'll be back around ten-ish. Love always,_

_Hales_

Nathan sighed, he missed her already. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nine thirty. Thirty whole minutes before Haley came back. It sounded like an eternity. He decided to take an extra-long shower to pass the time.

After what he thought was a long shower, he realized that he still had twenty-five minutes 'till ten. He tried to kill time for a couple minutes, but he ended up driving himself crazy. When he couldn't take not seeing Haley anymore, he went out to find her. He knew which road she normally took to jog, so he started running in that direction, figuring their paths would cross since she was probably on her way back by now.

--

Haley was now on her way back, it was nine forty-seven. She was missing Nathan, even though it had only been a couple of hours. In fact, she was really dying to see him right now. She started singing to distract herself. She sang softly to herself as she jogged the deserted streets. Then she got really into it, and considering no one was around, she just started to sing louder and fuller. One thing she wasn't insecure about was her singing, she had gotten many compliments on it, and she actually liked how her voice sounded.

She sang songs from Greenday, to Michelle Branche, to The Supremes, but her mind still stuck to Nathan. He hadn't heard her sing, other than singing along to music that was playing, or singing a little in the shower, but he had never actually heard her sit down at a piano and just sing her heart out. Of course, she didn't have a piano anymore, but that wasn't the point. She would love to share that side of her with Nathan.

--

Nathan was running still, and getting a little out of breath. He was running twice the speed he normally ran at, but he soon slowed down. And once the beating of his heart and the panting of his breath had lowered in volume, he could hear the faint sound of singing. Now, he had never truly heard Haley sing before, not for real, but he at once recognized that it was Haley singing, there was no doubt about it.

It was beautiful. A low, sexy voice, and it was coming closer. Nathan decided to stop and wait for Haley to find him there. He caught his breath in no-time and then just waited till he saw her coming, listening to the beautiful sound of her voice, now singing "She Will Be Loved". And the goofy, love-struck smile appeared once more on his face.

--

Very soon after, Haley arrived in Nathan's sight. Haley noticed him right away, and stopped singing, a little embarrassed, but mostly just happy to see him there. She picked up her pace and ran into his arms. She kissed him as strongly as she could, since she was a little out of breath from the jog.

"I didn't know you sang, Hales." Nathan said when they pulled apart. But he kept her close, his arms locked around her waste.

"Well, I don't really... anymore. It's just something I like doing." Haley said, shyly.

"You should definitely do it more often. It was amazing." Nathan said truthfully. Haley let out a barely audible 'thank you'.

"How's the cut on your lip feeling today?" Haley asked, smirking. Nathan smiled and answered.

"It's about a kiss away from feeling great," He answered and bent down to kiss Haley again. They were lost in the kiss, in each other, and at that moment nothing mattered at all. All that mattered, was that she loved him and he loved her, and they were where they belonged, in each others arms. As long as they were together, all the problems were pushed aside.

--

**AN: OK so that was a nice, fluffy, cute chapter with only pure cute Naley. I hope you liked it! please review! Thank you guys so much for reading.**

**NEXT:**

**Jared strikes again, but who this time?**

**The drama returns!**


	23. Chapter 23

AN: Thanks to: chelle2911, Nathanlvr, Lorilozz, naley23lover101, Naleylvr23, jeyton4ever, and Liz457 for the wonderful reviews! I absolutely love hearing what you guys think about each chapter, thank you so much for taking the time to fill out a review; it really means a lot to me!

__

**Chapter 23**

The rest of Nathan and Haley's weekend was spent just as blissfully as their Saturday morning. They concentrated on nothing but themselves and having a care-free weekend, to be well rested for the week at school that probably held some problems just waiting to be found. Jared would stir up trouble, as always, and Haley was really nervous about what might happen. He threatened her, got into a fight with Nathan, and manipulated her parents… She was just scared what else he could do to get her to give in. Nathan too was concerned, but both of them not wanting to spoil their perfect weekend, neither of them brought him up, or anything that had to do with him.

"What're you thinking about?" Nathan asked, noticing that Haley had been drifting off into thought while they were watching MTV on Sunday.

"Oh, nothing," Haley lied; she had been busy wondering what Jared would do next.

"Come on, tell me." Nathan persisted; he wanted her to be able to talk about it. He knew it was for the better; when she had something on her mind and was that deep in thought, she would stay in her little place thinking all day. This way she could get whatever she was worried about off her chest.

"OK," Haley said, realizing that it was better to talk about it with Nathan. Because now, although Haley didn't like the fact, Nathan was part of it too. "I'm just…. Worried…" Haley said slowly.

"Well, clearly," Nathan said with a hint of a smile on his lips, making it easier for Haley to let loose and just say what was on her mind.

"I'm worried that this whole thing with Jared will just get worse." Haley blurted out. There, she had said it. Nathan didn't look surprised, because he wasn't. He himself had been wondering what Jared's next move was, he just didn't say anything because he didn't want Haley to worry about it, which she had been anyway.

"Well, maybe we should stop him," Nathan said and Haley gave him a weird look. "I mean, it's not like he's going to stop on his own. Maybe we should do something about it, instead of just letting him do all this."

"How're we supposed to do that?" Haley asked, curious. Nathan was famous for being a bad-boy. If he wanted to beat Jared up so badly that he couldn't do anything wrong anymore or something, Haley didn't want any part of it. That wasn't her thing. And that would be just like stooping down to Jared's level.

"Hales, I'm sure I can find a way to stop the guy-" Nathan started to say.

"Nathan, no, we can't do that. It's wrong." Haley said and Nathan nodded; he understood. "I mean, maybe he's done. Maybe he realized that he's not going to get to us and that he should just give up." Haley said unconvincingly to both Nathan and herself. Who was she kidding? Jared wouldn't give up until he won. Nathan and Haley both knew that very well, but neither of them talked about the subject any further.

---

On Monday morning, Nathan and Haley met the rest of the gang in front of the school. As it had been most days when Nathan and Haley got there, they saw Brooke and Lucas making out and Jake and Peyton doing the same thing right next to them. It became somewhat of a morning ritual.

"This is getting a little old," Nathan joked as Haley and him got to where the others were. The couples broke apart, as always and said hi.

"Where've you guys _been_ all weekend? I tried calling like a million times," Brooke said. Nathan and Haley smiled and looked at each other.

"Yeah, I kind of turned my phone off…" Haley said as if it wasn't a big deal, "So, um, what'd you guys do this weekend?" Haley asked wanting to change the attention from her and Nathan to the others.

"Nothing," They all replied, not very innocently looking at their significant others and blushing. Then they all burst out laughing and walked to class.

--- 

But there wasn't as cheerful an attitude in class as there was before hand. The whole time Jared kept staring at Haley and really creeping her out. She wanted to wave or smile or something, but all she had the guts to do was pretend like she didn't even notice. Although, but Jared's grin, she could tell that he knew that she saw him. Haley wished Nathan was there. He's good at the evil-glare thing, he could totally out-stare Jared. But alas, Nathan wasn't in this class…

After class, although Haley rushed as fast as she possibly could to get to her next class, Jared caught up to her.

"Hey, _Hales_," He said, with that same tone that send a shiver down Haley's spine, and not in a good way either. "Wait up."

"Don't call me that," Haley warned turning around to face him. But she wasn't fooling him. She wasn't tough, and she didn't sound like it.

"What is it only Nathan who can call you that? That is so adorable," Jared said fakely. "Oh, wait, did I say adorable? I meant disgusting. What're you still doing with that guy, Haley?" Jared said.

"I would like you to please, stay out of my love-life, ok? In fact, just stay out of my life!" Haley said, fed up.

"Wow, he's really got you. I mean, I knew you were naïve, but I didn't think you'd stay under the spell of Nathan Scott's charm for this long. You're not _that_ stupid." Jared spat out. Haley groaned. This guy was going way too far, and it was hard to keep her cool.

"You know, maybe I am. Maybe I'm _that_ stupid. I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Haley said. "Look, stay out of my life! I don't know how else to say it. Leave me and my boyfriend and my family alone." Haley said, trying to sound tough.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. See you around, Hales," He said with a smirk as he put his designer sunglasses, which he got out form his pocket, on. Haley wanted to yell that we were _inside_! But she was just glad that he left her alone, so she left it at that and went to her next class.

During her next class, she couldn't even concentrate on the lesson. She was just thinking about her conversation with Jared. He had said that he couldn't leave her alone. Why on earth is that? Why did he care so much about ruining her life? Was he just that evil? I mean, there wasn't even anything in for him in it? She just wished that there was something she could do to prevent it. All she could do now was warn everyone.

---

"Ok, you guys," Haley said when everyone was grouped together at lunch, "I just want to warn you guys about Jared. This guy is going to do anything to get me to move in with my parents and/or break up with Nathan-"

"It's true," Lucas interrupted, "That guy is crazy," He said. It was true, after what he had witnessed him fighting with Nathan at the River Court, Lucas pretty much figured that this guy had issues.

"Yeah, so if any of you guys see him, just like, run away, or pepper-spray him or, something, ok?" Haley said.

"Haley, relax, it can't be that bad," Peyton said. She and Brooke and Jake seemed like they all thought that this wasn't a big deal.

"Have you ever met him?" Nathan asked. Brooke, Jake, and Peyton both shook their heads.

"Not really. But I've seen him before. Doesn't he know that wearing sunglasses inside is so last-season?" Brooke joked. She and Peyton and Jake had seen him around school and it was pretty obvious that he thought he was way more popular than he actually was. But he was filthy rich, and that's how he got the attention.

"Apparently not," Haley said nodding in agreement to her. "But you guys, seriously, just promise me that you'll be careful…?" Haley said seriously.

"Yeah, sure," They all promised and Haley felt the tiniest bit better, but not really. She was still really scared for all of them and for herself.

---

Haley was at Karen's Café after school, working and Nathan had just finished working. He was walking back home, thinking about Haley, when he stopped dead in his tracks. He groaned at the sight of Jared standing in his way.

"So, what do you stalk Haley one week, than me the next or something?" Nathan said, when he got closer. Jared smirked and didn't look the least bit intimidated, which Nathan thought was weird, since he had totally beat Jared in their fight.

"Look, man, I'm not here to fight or anything." Jared said.

"That's not a surprised. Considering I kicked you're a$$ last time," Nathan said, and Jared didn't disagree with him, he just nodded along, but still didn't look intimidated at all. "What're you here for then?" Nathan asked finally.

"I just want to explain one thing to you." Jared said. Nathan gestured for him to continue. "Have you thought about college?" This struck Nathan as a weird question. What seventeen-year-old hasn't thought about college?

"Uh… yeah, sure, I've thought about it…" Nathan said. "Look, I'm not really in the mood for small-talk, especially not with you, so can you please get to the point?"

"Right, well, Haley's parents. You know, the ones that she left for you? They have a plan. A great college. A great career. She could be one of the most successful women in the United States with the path they planed for her. Except there's one thing in her way: You." Jared said. Nathan took this all in. He didn't really have a plan like that. And it was true that with the way that his family was kind of hanging in there money-wise, college wasn't a realistic option. But it was Haley's decision for her to move out, and Nathan was going to respect that.

"I only want what's best for Haley," Jared continued, "And her parents are really nice people that can do good things for her. But you're crushing everything that they planed for her. You can understand why they don't want you in her life anymore can't you?"

"What are you, Haley's parents' messenger or something? Who are you to tell me all this?" Nathan asked.

"I'm just trying to help," Jared said. Help? Nathan thought, Yeah right. "Look, I'll pay you."

"Excuse me?" Nathan asked shocked.

"I'll pay you to step back. Do the right thing." Jared said.

"If it's the right thing, than why would you have to bribe me to do it?" Nathan spat. He couldn't believe this guy? Did he really think he could put a price on Haley?

Jared didn't say anything for a while. He got out a check-book from his pocket and wrote on it than handed it to Nathan. Nathan didn't take it so Jared just dropped it at his feet. "Think about it," Jared said and then walked away. Nathan was too shocked still to say anything, but after a while he came back to his senses and bent down to pick up the check. It read: 2,000 dollars. How could Jared just through _two thousand_ dollars on the ground? Nathan had never held that much money in his hand. It was not a good feeling.

---

Nathan looked at the time: six o'clock. Haley would be home when he got there. The whole way home, Nathan thought about how to tell Haley about it. Or even if he should tell her. There was even a time when he considered doing what Jared had asked of him. He wanted Haley to have everything she deserved, and be happily with her parents again. But he was selfish too, he wanted Haley in his life and he didn't want to let her go.

Nathan got home and opened the door. Haley was in the kitchen cooking. She started cooking for him and sometimes his mother when she was there, almost every night. Nathan thought it was amazing how she could go to work, which was basically two hours of cooking and being around food, and then go home and cook there too. But that was just how Haley was. Amazing.

"Want to go shopping?" Nathan said, randomly. He figured the best way to bring up the check in his hand was to say stupid things like that.

"What?" Haley asked, confused.

"It's on Jared." Nathan said, handing her the check.

"What the hell is this?" Haley asked getting annoyed. "Jared gave this to you?" Haley couldn't believe this. Why would Jared give Nathan two thousand dollars? To get him to convince her to move out or something? This was unbelievable.

"He ambushed me when I was walking back for work. Said a whole bunch of shit, and then handed me that. Said he would pay me to break up with you." Nathan said, scared for her response. Haley's mouth fell open.

"What a jerk," She said, thinking out loud. Tears swelled in her eyes. Nathan got up hurriedly and went over to her.

"Hey, Hey…" Nathan said trying to calm her down, "Hales, I would never do that, you know that, right?"

"No, I know… It's just…" Haley said, "He has to be stopped. I mean it, once and for all. We need to do something."

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Nathan asked.

"I have an idea," Haley said, knowingly. Nathan smiled.

"That's my girl," He said, proudly. He wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"I know you would never break-up with me for money." Haley said sincerely, looking lovingly up at Nathan. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Besides, you're worth way more that two thousand dollars," Nathan said smiling and he leaned down and kissed her sweetly.

AN: ok guys, that's where I leave you! Thanks so much for reading! What's Haley's plan? Review and find out!


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Thanks so much for the wondeful reviews: ****abonana, LiZ457****OTH.daddy'sgurl.06****AngelLuva****chelle2911****Nathanlvr ****Miessa****, and ****mistydm! **

**Chapter 24**

Haley and Nathan spent the rest of the week trying to avoid Jared. It was hard, but they eventually just learned to tune him out and Jared would end up leaving them alone at that moment and then come to ambush them later on that day. He would harass Nathan, saying that he took the check so now he had to break up with Haley, for her own good, he said. And he would harass Haley saying how great it would be if she moved back in with her folks. But Haley and Nathan knew it was all just manipulation and they didn't fall for it for a second. 

They were forming a plan. A plan to finally let everyone know what Jared was up to. Everyone as in Haley's parents, Jared's parents, even the police if it had to get that far. Haley didn't want to cause trouble. But she had been over the issue a million times in her head and she knew that if she didn't do anything now, Jared might never stop. And Haley and Nathan were in a too good place right now, to let it be ruined by Jared. Haley wouldn't let that happen.

Haley and Nathan would still let Jared get to them sometimes, or at least they would pretend that he did. They didn't want it to seem obvious that they were thinking up a plan, so they would throw some insults to Jared when he would attack them. Nathan might glare at him from time to time. Haley might look sad at something he would say and then call him a jerk. But really they couldn't care less what he said or did, because they knew that it would all be over soon.

"You're being awfully quiet, Haley," Peyton noticed one after-noon at school, when her and Brooke and Haley were grouped in the bathroom talking about random things. Haley had been in her own thoughts as Peyton and Brooke debated which of their boyfriends was hotter or something like that. And both Brooke and Peyton had noticed.

"Hun?" Haley asked stupidly as she was brought back to reality. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just wondering how I did on that quiz."

"What quiz?" Brooke asked, who had been in all Haley's classes since that morning and didn't recall any quiz.

"You know... that quiz... the one... in that class..." Haley said already loosing her train of thought and going back to thinking about her plan. Brooke and Peyton didn't seem to mind, they were already back in their conversation.

"Oh! I got one. Basketball! Lucas is _so_ better at basketball than Jake!" Brooke said with an expression of victory on her face, she seemed very pleased with her discovery.

"Yeah, well that's just because..." Peyton paused, "... Jake has Jenny. AND his music! Oh, you can so not beat that! Jake plays guitar _and_ he sings! HA!" Peyton said happy with herself. Brooke and Peyton both stuck their tongues out at each other before the bell rang. Haley jumped at the noise, not expecting it.

"Haley, is everything ok?" Brooke asked before they left to go to class.

"Yeah, just kind of out-of-it today, that's all."

---

Thursday was the day. They had it all planed. Considering the fact that Jared had stopped by after Haley's tutoring sessions every day that week, Haley and Nathan had it all planed for after Haley's tutoring session that day. They planed to meet that day after school, before Haley's tutoring session in the girl's bathroom to get ready.

The day passed by as slow as possible. And it didn't help that Haley and Nathan barely had any classes together. Haley could barely concentrate all day, she was so nervous. She was going over the plan over and over again for the hundredth time, looking for some way that it might not work. It was kind of a stretch, it was very possible that it would backfire, or just not work as they planed.

Nathan, however, was not concentrating on the possible flaws in the plan, he was only thinking about the positive. How after this, he could just relax and not have to worry about Haley being taken away from him. 

Finally the school day ended and Nathan and Haley met in one of the girl's bathrooms. They went to the one that was the furthest away, that way they were sure that no-one would walk in on them.

"Whoa, you guys have mirrors in here?" Was the first thing Nathan said when he entered. Haley gave him a look.

"Please," Haley said, "Like you have to worry about your looks."

"Yeah, you're right," Nathan said smirking. Haley pushed him playfully and he just grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer so he could kiss her.

After kissing for a minute, Haley pulled away. "Nathan I have tutoring, we need to get to business." She said.

"Right," Nathan said and hard as it was, he pulled himself away from Haley and took a step back. "Are you all set?"

"Yeah. You?" Haley asked. Nathan nodded. They went over the plan and then said good-bye and Haley went off to the tutoring center and Nathan off to wait in his car.

---

Haley sat down at her usual tutoring table in the center and waited. She had finished her tutoring schedule with the last guy she tutored, after Nathan, yesterday and was expecting a new student today. She looked around and noticed that no one else was there. That wasn't unusual considering that none of the other tutors tutored half as much as Haley did. Haley would go there everyday and sometimes, like today, she would be the only one there.

Soon after Haley was relieved to hear the tutoring center door open and then close.

"Hey, you must be-" Haley started to say as she turned around and found Jared in front of her. She panicked, he wasn't suppose to come until _after_ her tutoring session. "Jared." She said.

"Yup." Jared said with a grin as he sat down opposite Haley. Haley didn't even do anything, she didn't know what to do, so she just sat there. "So listen, I know you're suppose to be the tutor and all, but how 'bout I do the teaching this time."

"There's nothing you can teach me, Jared," Haley said gaining her courage back on the outside. But on the inside she was screaming. This was not part of the plan. Nathan was expecting him to come later, he won't know what's going on.

"Oh, I think there is," Jared said. Haley just stared at him. He continued, "See, I paid Nathan to break up with you." Haley still just stared at him, she didn't want to act surprised because she was scared that he wouldn't buy it, and she didn't want to tell him that she knew, so she just stared and he kept talking. "All I did was feed him some storied about him ruining your life and that was all it took for him to take the two grant I offered him to dump you."

Haley nodded, "I think I see where you're going with this," she said.

"You see? He doesn't care about you, he cares about himself. He wanted you with him just so that he could get some action, but when he's offered probably more money than he's ever seen in his life, he picks that over you." Jared said.

"I see what you're doing, you're trying to manipulate me." Haley said.

"No," Jared said simply, but Haley pretending like she didn't hear him and just continued.

"You have this whole plan, this whole string of lies set up to make me to move back in with my parents so you can get your way and me and Nathan would break up." Haley said. "Well, I've got news for you, you're not the only one with a plan." Haley said rambling. She was making this up off the top of her head, she didn't really know what to say but this seemed to be working.

"I'm going to stop you," Haley said, "I'm going to stop all this madness so that you will leave me and Nathan alone."

Jared let out a laugh that could have shattered glass it was so menacing. "Don't you get it?" Jared said as if Haley were stupid. "You and Nathan are never going to be left alone as long as you're together," He said, making Haley uneasy. Was he right? Would their plan work? Was it even working now that it was ruined by Jared showing up an hour earlier. "I don't care what it takes. Hell, this is fun for me. I will bribe, black-mail, beat-up, whatever it takes, because let's face it, I have the power to do all that. And I will get my way." He said with a sly grin. 

He was really starting to scare the hell out of Haley. This guy was psychotic, and this plan really needed to work just as they planed for him to leave them finally alone.

"Not if I can stop you," Haley said with a forceful tone, yet her voice wasn't loud at all. And she was now looking at the ground, she couldn't stand looking at that manipulative face. Haley jumped when she heard the door to the tutoring center open. She quickly turned around and let out a breath with relief when she saw Nathan there.

"Oh, look who it is..." Jared said.

Haley snickered at him and said, "Have a nice live, Jared. Because so help me, you will be out of ours for good." Nathan put a protective arm around her waist and glared at Jared.

"Yeah? What're you going to do?" Jared asked still smirking.

"It's already done," Haley said lifting up her shirt. Jared's grin grew wider and then disappeared when he saw the wires taped to her stomach.

"What?" Jared yelled, "You were wired?" Nathan and Haley remained silent as both Haley's and Jared's parents appeared behind them.

"Jared," Said his father, strictly. "You better come with us," He said firmly. Jared still looked dumb-founded, looking from Haley's parents, to his own, to Nathan and to Haley, waiting for someone to yell out that he's been Punk'd or something. No one said anything though, so Jared walked out of the room and followed his parents out of the school. Haley's parents looked still very surprised. Haley's mother was looking rather pale and she looked over at Nathan and Haley hugging and she slowly walked away, followed by Haley's father. They hadn't even said one word to her.

---

"Hales, you were great in there," Nathan said as they walked back to his car.

"Thanks, I was so scared when he came early. Hey, wait, how did you know he was there?" She asked.

"Well," Nathan said, "I was getting bored waiting in my car so I figured that I'd listen in on your tutoring session, just to hear your voice." Haley blushed, and Nathan continued, "Anyway, I turned the thing on just in time to hear Jared's voice saying that I didn't care about you. And I remember thinking 'What a sick, demented boy that is. Because I care about Haley more than anyone in the world and how dare he say that I don't.'" Nathan finished making Haley blush even more.

"I feel so... free, as stupid as it sounds, it's true. I mean, we don't have to worry about him anymore. There's nothing standing in the middle of our love anymore." Haley said smiling. She was very proud at herself for what happened in there in the tutoring center. She could have broken down and given up on the plan just because he got there earlier than planed, but it all worked out in the end, just as they planed.

"Nothing could or ever will stand in the middle of our love. I love you, Hales, and I always will," He said and he gazed into her eyes and Haley's heart melted.

"I love you, too Nathan." She said and leaned up just as he leaned down and their lips met in a passionate, love-filled kiss.

---

**AN: OK, guys, I hope you liked it! So what happens next with Jared and with Haley's parents and with Naley (of course), review and find out! Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Thanks so much for the wonderfully nice reviews to: Nathanlvr, ****OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, AngelLuva, mistydm****LiZ457****chelle2911****Caitlin****, and ****JmQt831! Just so you all know this story has about 5 chapters left. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 25**

However much Jared was spoiled by his parents before, that all pretty much ended. Although they weren't the most decent people, they disagreed greatly with what Jared had said and done. And so, like most people do when then can't deal with a problem, instead of fixing it, they push it aside. They sent Jared to a boarding school in Massachusetts the day after the whole thing blew over.

Haley, having had her parents want her to go to a boarding school not long ago, felt a little bad for him, but she much preferred it to the alternative of him staying and messing with her and Nathan's lives. Nathan didn't feel bad for the guy at all. If it were his son, well he would never raise a kid like that, but if he had, he would have sent him off to military school or something. But he wasn't going to waist anymore time worrying about Jared. He was out of their lives and they were going to enjoy it.

Come the next day at school, everyone knew what happened. Almost everyone, even some of Jared's old friends, would come up and thank Haley and Nathan for getting him out, claiming that they always hated him. They had to admit, Haley and Nathan were pretty worried what people would say. For all they knew, Jared's friends would come and beat them up for what they did, but instead they just congratulated them.

While Nathan was high-fiving just about anyone that passed them in the halls, Haley was distracted. She would smile at everyone, but inside her mind was going crazy. Her parents had been there that day, had heard what Jared has said. But they just left immediately afterwards without saying a word to her. And Haley was wondering so many things: Why did they want to hear what Jared said? Did it affect them at all? Did they know that Jared was doing those things? Did they _agree_ with him?

Despite her smile, Nathan knew that something was wrong with Haley. So, he brought her to a quiet corner before classes started to talk.

"Hales, what's going on?" Nathan asked and Haley didn't bother lying to him about it. He knew her too well and she knew that he wouldn't buy it if she told him nothing was wrong.

"I just... I mean does it seem weird that my parents..." Haley started, but somehow couldn't finish.

"Just came and left without saying a word?" Nathan finished for her. "Yeah, it was kind of weird."

"I mean, I didn't expect them to... I don't know, hug me or anything, but they could've said something. What did they say when you called them?" Haley asked.

"Well I just told them to please come to the school and they asked why and all that, but when I said that it concerned you they came right away. I played them what I had recorded so far and they didn't really say anything. I think they were just shocked." Nathan said and Haley thought about it. When they heard that it concerned her, they came right away? Well, that meant something, right?

"Ok... Thanks, Nathan," Haley said as the bell rang. They kissed good-bye then headed to separate classes. Well, Nathan headed to class. Haley decided to do something she had never done before. She took a couple deep breaths. And then she quickly ran outside.

---

Haley didn't have the keys to Nathan's car so she just kept running. But it was ridiculous and pointless; she wasn't going to run the whole way, that was impossible. So she found a bus to take her there. It was weird, but that was actually the first time she had ever been on a bus. Her parents would always drive her places and then when she turned sixteen she was handed a car and never needed to drive the bus. But Haley didn't mind it, in fact, she rather liked.

There were a couple times when she considered getting off and just going back to school. I can't do this, she thought. But then, she had already left, she was already on the bus. She was already doing this.

As she got closer her heart rate accelerated, pounding so hard she just knew that everyone else in the bus could hear it. Three blocks left... Two... One... The bus stopped and Haley swore her heart did too, but she forced herself to get off.

Her parents weren't going to talk to her. Fine, she would have to go and talk to them. Now if only she could get herself to knock on that door. She had been standing in front of it for minutes now. She still couldn't decide. Maybe this was all a mistake... Would she regret this later? She sat down and leaned against the door for a little while, still deciding. Suddenly she felt the door pull away from behind her and she practically fell backwards, but she was able to pull herself up.

"Haley. I thought I heard a noise," It was her mother. Normally the butler would open the door, but this time Haley was just lucky.

"Yeah," Haley said, her brain freezing. Why was she here, again? "Can I come in?" Her mother looked at her for a few seconds.

"Okay," She finally said and she moved aside. Haley stepped in.

---

"Nathan, wait up!" Peyton said stumbling to catch up with Nathan during the lunch period. He was so tall and had long legs, making his strides way bigger than hers. Peyton saw him passing by and thought she should talk to him.

Nathan stopped when he heard his name and turned around. Peyton was shoving her way through the crowded hall way.

"Hey," Nathan said when Peyton reached him. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering where Haley was. We missed her first period. I didn't have any other classes with her, so I don't know if she ever came, but I haven't really seen her so..." Peyton said. Nathan looked confused, probably 'cause he was.

"What? No, Haley's here, I was with her right before first period." Nathan said.

"Well she didn't come to class."

Nathan thought about it. Haley? Cutting class? Those two things didn't exactly go together. Did something happen?

"Well, I don't know. Maybe something came up," Peyton said and then she left. Probably to go find Jake. In a way Nathan envied what Peyton and Jake had or what Brooke and Lucas had. They had love, but without all the complications that he and Haley had. But he didn't dwell on that too long. He knew he was lucky to have Haley, even with the complications. He quickly got out his phone and called Haley. Speed-dial two.

---

"James, Haley is here," Lydia announced to Haley's father who was reading the newspaper in the living room. Haley was uneasy and she could tell her mother was too. He looked up from the paper and saw that yes, in fact, Haley was there.

"Hi, Dad..." Haley said uncomfortably. Her and her mother walked in and sat down. Her mother on the couch next to her father, and Haley on a chair across from them. They were silent for a while. Haley felt stupid that she hadn't planed what to say to them on the way here. But the words eventually came.

"You guys left pretty quickly the other day," Haley said. Her parents didn't say anything. "Why is that?" Haley asked.

Her parents exchanged glances and then her mother spoke. "Haley, honey, your father and I have been thinking... We want you to come home..." They explained to her that they weren't going to make her go to the boarding school and they even apologized for their previous behavior. At one point Haley swore she saw a few tears fall from her mother's eyes.

Haley asked questions. A lot of questions, to make sure there was no catch. And there wasn't.

---

Haley's phone rang a little later and she didn't want to be rude and answer, but she saw that it was Nathan and considering that Haley didn't tell him about skipping school, she figured she should answer. She excused herself from her parents and went into another room.

"Hello?" She answered after what seemed to Nathan like ten million rings.

"Thank God. Hales, where are you?" Nathan said frantically.

"Nathan, don't worry. I'm fine... I'm..." For some reason, the right words wouldn't come to Haley. "I'll tell you about it later, okay? I love you, I'll see you later at your house." Haley said fast and then hung up before Nathan could ask her if she was sure.

---

Haley figured she could walk back to Nathan's house from her parent's house. She took the road that went past Echo Park, just so that she could maybe stop there and think. The one place were she could be alone with her thoughts. What was she going to say to Nathan?

Thoughts ran through Haley's mind at one hundred miles and hour and before Haley knew it she had arrived at Echo Park. But she wasn't alone. She noticed a tall, dark figure there and she knew exactly who it was. Nathan.

Haley made her way over to him slowly. Each step making her eyes water more until Nathan was just a watery blur in her eyes. She wiped her eyes and called out to him. He turned around and saw her and walked over.

"Hi," Haley said. Nathan's expression was all concern. He had noticed Haley's teary-eyes.

"Hales, what's going on? What's wrong?" Nathan asked. Haley took several deep breaths and forced herself to look into Nathan's deep blue, confused eyes.

"I, um... went to see my parents..." Haley said with the smallest voice she had ever used. "They, uh... They told me that they wanted me to move back..." Haley couldn't look Nathan in the eyes anymore, it was too hard. She stared down at her shoes.

Haley's parents invited her back? Nathan thought. And from her tone it seemed like... What, was she actually considering...? "Haley, are you going to..." Nathan couldn't finish the thought. His mind got foggy and he felt like he was nauseous.

"They want to be a family, Nathan. They said they were sorry. Do you know how often they admit that they're sorry? Never. But they said it. Nathan, I can't keep living with you and your mom. Your mom has to go through enough already, I can't be another child for her to support when my parents want to support me. I can't keep pretending that you and your mom are my family." Haley tried to explain.

"But, Haley, your parents won't even let you see me!" Nathan said, expression his deepest fright. He knew if Haley went back to her parents than it would be over.

"Yes, they will, Nathan, they'll understand!" Haley said. Her parents seemed to have changed. If they wanted Haley to be happy than they would let her see Nathan. They wouldn't care anymore. They might even like him.

"No, Haley, they won't," Nathan said, starting to yell, "God, Haley, I love you so much, but you are being way too naive here."

"They just want what's best for me! And that's for me to be with you, they'll understand!" Haley yelled back, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't you get it? They think that what's best for you is to stay away from me, not be with me!" Nathan said. He couldn't believe that the only thing he loved more than life itself, was slipping away from him. And there was nothing he could do but protest. And it wasn't going to well. Tears were forming in his eyes. He couldn't lose her.

"No, you've got it wrong!" Haley said, convincing herself that he was wrong. He was. He had to be. "I mean, why does it have to be you or my parents, hun? Why can't I have both? A family and a boyfriend, is that too much to ask?"

"No, it's not too much to ask," Nathan said, then added, "As long as the boyfriend is rich."

"What?" Haley sobbed.

"Your parents, they think I'm filth, Haley." Nathan said. "You should have seen the way they looked at me the other day. They practically disowned you for being with me!" Nathan yelled.

"But they've changed," Haley said. They had changed. They apologized and everything. Her mother was crying. They were going to be a family. "I want a real family. If you can't support me on that, than that's your problem, but I'm moving back in with them!" Haley declared, tears still falling.

They were silent for a while. Nathan let everything sink in. But he couldn't. How was he supposed to accept this? He swallowed. "Then, I guess I can't stop you," He whispered and then turned around and walked away. He couldn't let her see him cry.

---

**AN: I know, it's sad, but I have a lot planned for ahead, so please don't give up on me! Please review! Thanks!**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews to: JmQt831, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, chelle2911, Nathanlvr, Hera Agathon (I think it's really cool that you're not a big Naley fan but that you still enjoy this story, thank you so much!), and mistydm.**

**Our Little Corner Of The Universe**

**Chapter 26**

_Today you said you were leaving,_

_Couldn't let you see me cry_

_You can take what you want to_

_But won't let you take my pride_

As Nathan walked away, he felt soft tears roll down his face. He hadn't cried since his father had died. That was over ten years ago, and he had forgotten what it was like. To be reminded of your pain with every tear drop that falls from your eyes. He couldn't imagine how awful it would be. The only person he truly loved to not be in his life anymore. How torn up he would get to see Haley everyday at school and not be able to feel her in his arms.

There was no one else like her. No one else that was good for him. No one else that made him feel the way he did, just by receiving a smile from her perfect lips. His heart ached thinking about it, but he could think of nothing else. So this is what's it's like to have your heart broken, he thought, wondering if his heart would ever mend.

_Here I lie watching the cars on the highway_

_You're one of those lights that's driving away_

Suddenly it hit him. How he had lost her. Was he just going to give up so fast? So easily? Is this how it was all going to end? He needed her in his life, and he wasn't going to go anywhere. She needed to know that. He needed to tell her. He stopped dead in his tracks. And with a drastic change from his slow walk, he turned around and started sprinting back to Echo Park.

He ran faster than he had ever ran before. His feet barely touched the ground, he was going so fast. He knew that he would probably be unbelievably tired once he got there, but he had to get there before Haley left. He had to tell her. He didn't want to leave things the way they left it.

He saw the park in the distance and he didn't think it was possible, but he somehow ran even faster the rest of the way there. He struggled to catch his breath as he looked left and right only to realize his greatest fear. She was gone. Nowhere to be seen.

_I'm standing in the dark wondering where you are_

_I'm leaving my heart here in Echo Park._

He collapsed to the ground, so exhausted. The running had taken his mind off of everything else, but now as his world came crumbling down on him, he started crying once again. He felt the grass under him, so soft and he felt like just staying there. Dying there. Would anyone even notice?

_And the cars look smaller from here_

_And the sky looks bigger from here_

_And now that everything is clear_

_Everything falls apart..._

---

"Haley, honey, what's wrong?" Haley's mother had said. But it was more out of surprise than out of sympathy. Haley had come home in tears, sobbing harder and harder, instead of calming down. She was sobbing so hard, that even if she wanted to talk to her mother, she wouldn't have been able to.

She just ran up the two sets of stairs to her room. She didn't make it all the way to her bed. The second she closed her door, she collapsed against it. She slid down against it and sat on the ground leaning back and sobbing into her knees. How could this happen to her? One second she and Nathan were happily in love, overcoming every obstacle life through their way. And now it was over? Haley couldn't bring herself to accept that. It was something she was never going to accept. Never.

Somehow, she managed to bring herself together just long enough to call Brooke, who called Peyton. She tried to force herself to calm down. Which she did a little bit. She took several long breaths. Washed her face a couple times and tried applying make-up, but decided it was useless. She knew that when she retold the story to Brooke and Peyton, she would just start bawling again.

---

Haley, Brooke and Peyton said they would meet up at Brooke's house, which wasn't too far from Haley's since Brooke lived in the rich part of Tree Hill, as well. Before Haley could knock on the door, Brooke opened it fast and pulled her into a tight hug. Which was just what Haley needed. It made her feel great that she had friends there to support her, that she could talk to.

Haley and Brooke walked into the living room, where Peyton was already sitting there. Peyton jumped up and ran over to hug Haley soothingly. But when Brooke and Peyton asked her to tell them what was wrong, Haley started sobbing once again. After she had calmed down a little she was able to start talking. She was still shaking a little and had to pause once in a while, while telling them the story. The story made both Brooke and Peyton ache for her, they wanted to cry themselves, but they pulled it together for Haley's sake.

"Haley, babe, come here," Brooke said at the end of it, and the three of them joined in a group hug for a while.

"I just... I don't see... why," Haley said being interrupted every other word by her sobs or sniffs, "why it has to... be either... my parents or N... Nathan." She finished.

"Shhh, I know, I know," Brooke and Peyton said trying to get her to calm down. There would be plenty of time to talk about this later. Right now it was important to get the sobbing out of her system. To just let it out.

---

Ten or so minutes later, Haley had calmed down. Brooke and Peyton exchanged glances, silently agreeing that now was the time to talk about what had happened.

"What do you think's going to happen now?" Peyton asked.

Haley shook her head and shrugged. Her eyes were still puffy, but she had stopped crying. "I don't know... I really don't... I'm still living with my parents, but I'm not about to just give up on Nathan. I mean, why doesn't he understand why I have to do this?"

"I don't know, Hales. But don't you think that maybe he just said those things because he was scared?" Brooke asked.

"What is he scared of?"

"Losing you," Brooke said simply. Those words resonated in Haley's mind. Had he lost her?

"He won't lose me," Haley said softly. "I won't let that happen. He acts like my parents are going to push him away or something."

"Well, I hate to be the one to ask this, Haley, but someone has to," Peyton said, looking uneasy, "But did you ask your parents if they were okay with you seeing Nathan?"

Haley looked at her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. After a while she reopened them and spoke softly. "They said that things were going to be different."

"Haley-" Brooke said. She was going to tell her, that that didn't necessarily mean that they would acknowledge Nathan as her boyfriend, but she was interrupted.

"They said that they wanted me to be happy," Haley protested.

"But Haley, you know that that doesn't mean-" Peyton started.

"I know," Haley whispered. She hung her head low and let the tears fall once again. "What have I done?" Brooke and Peyton figured that was a rhetorical question. Haley continued, "We were supposed to be a real family again," She said more to herself than to her friends. She looked at the ground. "I was supposed to be _happy_," she said.

They spent the rest of the day talking, eating ice cream. But Haley was barely paying attention. She couldn't get over it. What was she going to do if her parents didn't let her be with Nathan? It would be the whole thing she had already gone through with them, all over again? And now Nathan was mad at him. And although she didn't think so before, she now saw that he had perfect reason to be.

---

**AN: Hey, sorry if that wasn't that interesting. don't worry, the next chapters will be. NEXT: a day at school! Naley confrontation. What will happen? Please review! Thanks for reading!**

**Song Credit: Echo Park, by Ryan Cabrera**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: Thanks for the reviews to: Hera Agathon, mistydm, Nathanlvr, chelle2911, AngelLuva, and OTH.daddy'sgurl.06!**

**Our Little Corner Of The Universe**

**Chapter 27**

A week later, not much progress had been made. Haley, knowing that she had to talk to her parents soon, was much to afraid. The first few days in her house with her parents weren't bad. They actually acted like a real family. But much to soon, things started to get like they were before. Her father had to work all the time and her mother didn't talk much. At least not about things that were important. All in one week, they had already had four business dinners. Haley played along, wearing the nice clothes, and being the good little business-man's daughter, but she couldn't help asking herself 'Is it last year over again? I thought I had chosen to get out of this life?' But she had ended up right back in it.

But this time it was worse. Before she had met Nathan, things weren't so bad. She had no idea that there was someone out there that could turn her life into somewhere where she belonged. Where she was loved.

She had been avoiding Nathan. Her first idea was to maybe talk to him at school, but she found it too painful to even look at him. She had let him down, and she knew it. He was right all along and she was being naive. What was she supposed to do? Look him in the eye and say 'You were right, but I'm too afraid to talk to my parents about you. Sorry?' No, she just couldn't do it. And however much Brooke and Peyton were trying to convince her to talk to him, she was trying to tell herself that she was doing the right thing. Until she talked to her parents, she couldn't talk to Nathan. But the question was, when was she going to talk to her parents?

---

Haley got up on Monday morning to feel the wetness on her pillow from last nights tears. She barely noticed it though, she was used to it by now. Crying herself to sleep had become somewhat of a ritual for the past week. She got up slowly and got dressed. All she could think about was how she didn't want this week to be like last week. Anything but that. It was time to finally talk to her parents. She was seventeen, practically an adult, and she was a responsible girl, she should be able to talk to her parents about important things.

She went downstairs to find that he father had already left for work at six in the morning. Her first thought was to just let it go and ask another time, but she knew that if she followed through with that idea that she would never get around to telling them. She had been postponing this for too long. It was now or never.

"Uh, mom?" Haley said nervously, entering the kitchen. Her mother turned around.

"Yes," She answered casually. She had no idea what she was in for.

"I've been meaning to talk to you..." Haley started as she sat down at the kitchen table. "... about... Nathan..." Haley finished looking up at her mom, scared. She was ashamed that she would be afraid to talk to her mom about the man she loved, it wasn't right. Her mother kept an unreadable, almost blank expression on her face.

"Nathan." She stated. "Nathan Scott." She said, not scowling, but not smiling either. Not that Haley expected her to.

"Nathan and I-" Haley started.

"Honey, could we talk about this later," Haley's mother said all of a sudden in a rush to go somewhere.

"Well, actually-" Haley started to say. This was important, she didn't know if she could bring herself to bring it up whenever 'later' was.

"I've got some errands that I need to take care of for tonight, and you've got school. Don't forget to get your school work done before the dinner tonight, it's very important." Her mother said as she left the house not letting Haley get one word in. Haley sighed, great another important dinner. Something fun and new for her.

---

Nathan fell out of bed, put on some pants and a shirt he found on the floor and left for school. It's not like there was anyone he wanted to impress. His hair was un-gelled, his clothes were wrinkled, and his sentences consisted of grunts. So in a nutshell, he wasn't doing so well. But if you thought his appearance was a mess, you should take a look inside his head. His mind was so confused, sad, angry, lonely, and basically every feeling you didn't want to feel. He wasn't himself. And he didn't feel like being himself.

He still forced himself to go to school. He payed attention in classes, and did his homework. It's like, Haley left his life, but she left her mark. He was still the man that she shaped. He wanted more than anything, to think that she was the same girl that he was still in love with. And he knew she was.

He got to school and knew that something was going on right away because instead of being greeted by Lucas and Brooke making out, right next to Jake and Peyton doing the same thing, he saw all four of them in front of the school, just standing there, waiting for him. He looked at them weirdly before aproaching them.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked when he got to where they were.

"What do you think?" Peyton said hitting him over the head. It didn't really hurt but Nathan groaned anyway.

"Ow. I don't know." Nathan answered honestly. What had gotten over them?

"Nathan, you have to talk to Haley," Lucas said with a serious expression on his face.

"No," Nathan said simply as he entered the school, the rest of the gang following behind him.

"Nathan, man, have you seen her around school?" Jake asked.

"No," Nathan repeated as he got to his locker.

"Exactly. She's been avoiding you. And by avoiding you, she's avoiding us too. The only times we've seen her around school, she's been alone and depressed. You know how she is, she's not going to have the nerve to go up and talk to you, no matter how much she wants to. You've got to be the bigger man." Jake said.

Nathan sighed as he did his combination on the lock on his locker. He looked over to his left and saw Haley there alone, getting books from her locker. Her hair was up. Her hair hadn't been up since he first met her. He had told her to wear it down, it fit her better. But now it was up again.

Haley looked up and for a second her eyes locked with Nathan's. It was like they were looking in a mirror. They saw the sadness and regret in each others eyes that they recognized from their own. Nathan realized that what his friends were saying was true. Even though Nathan and Haley weren't talking anymore, Nathan had stuck with his friends while Haley had isolated herself from everyone.

"Just think about it," Brooke said, patting him on the back. The gang all went off to their own lockers and Nathan just stood there for a while still looking at Haley, who had averted her eyes somewhere else by now. He wanted so badly to go up to her. To talk. To make up. But it wasn't really his choice. It was up to her to decide if she wanted to have him as her boyfriend even though her parents disagreed. It was up to her to figure it out.

---

Haley stood in the same spot in the doorway to the cafeteria for a long time. Her and Nathan, they had had a moment that morning, right? When their eyes met across the hall, that was really something, right? It sure was for her. She thought her heart couldn't break any more, well she was wrong. She couldn't talk to her parents about her and Nathan, fine. But she should be able to talk to him about it, right?

She took a deep breath and walked over to the table she had been staring at. She bit her lip as she neared it, wondering if her friends would be mad at her for ignoring them the last week.

"Well, well, well, haven't seen you in a while," Brooke said as Haley reached the table. But she didn't say it in a mean, mad way or anything. In fact, she was smiling, she knew how much courage it had taken her to actually get her feet to move in that direction.

"Yeah, sorry," Haley said, hugging her. Nathan stood still in his seat, staring up at what once was his. "Nathan, um..." Haley started, trying to ask him if they could talk, but she opened her mouth and nothing came out. Thankfully, Nathan was good at reading her.

"Sure," He said quietly and uneasily. He got up and followed her out into a quiet empty hall. Haley opened and closed her mouth a couple times. What was she supposed to say? She knew she wanted to talk to him, but how was she supposed to start?

"I'm sorry," Haley got out in a whisper before a couple tears started forming in her eyes. The last thing Nathan wanted was for Haley to cry. He didn't think he could stand to see her this way. And what's worse, was that there was nothing he could do to make it better.

"You were right," Haley said, looking ashamed at her shoes. And try as she might she couldn't told back the tears as they fell down her cheeks. Nathan had to stop himself from reaching out and wiping them off her beautiful face. He couldn't do that anymore.

"I don't want to lose you, Hales," Nathan said trying to be strong. He looked her in the eyes even though she wasn't looking at him. He couldn't not look at her. "Not to your parents, not to anyone." He said.

The tears fell even faster down Haley's face now, not able to stop. Did he lose her? Was she lost? Not that she had thought of anything to say, but the bell rang before she had a chance to speak. She bit her lip and looked up at Nathan who was staring so intensely at her that she got scared. Her feelings were so strong for him and his for her.

"I... I have to go..." Haley said quickly, averting her eyes from his and left, running away.

---

**AN: i know, that was sad AGAIN! But I promise it won't be for much longer, just bear with me! I hope you guys liked it! Please review! It means a lot to me to hear what you guys have to say! Thanks so much!**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: Thanks so much for the awesome reviews to: Liz457, Nathanlvr, Hera Agathon, mistydm, chelle2911, Lorilozz, AngelLuva, and OTH.daddy'sgurl.06! I think you guys will like this chapter!**

**Chapter 28**

Haley was drowning in her favorite Green Day compilation and not even paying attention to how she was getting ready. She had done this so many times that she could do it in her sleep. Put on tights, dress, shoes. Put up hair. Put on blush. Fake a smile. That was the routine. Fancy dinner, after fancy dinner, and Haley was getting sick of it. Before she could weigh out these long evenings with the good things in her life. But these days there weren't any good thing anymore. And it was her own fault.

She had been really miserable lately. Cries, regret... But once she got home, none of that even mattered. After applying the cover-up for this nights evening, you couldn't tell she was crying. When she flashed her pearly whites, it didn't matter that her smile was just a disguise. Her love tragedies would mean nothing to careless business men who are closer to her parents than she is.

Haley got dressed, put up her hair and put on her make-up. She skipped the smile part. It was too much trouble. She turned off 'Wake Me Up When September Ends', the song only making her more sad, and after a deep breath, she stepped out of her room. She forced herself to go down stairs and into the living room, where the dinner was being held. Two dozen or so people were sitting or standing there, chatting away about what Haley could only imagine must be just about the most boring thing ever.

"Haley, hello dear, you look wonderful," Some woman Haley barely recognized said to her. Yeah right, Haley thought.

"Thanks," Haley said with no specific tone or expression. She hadn't put a smile on, completely forgetting about the whole concept.

"My, you've grown," Some man said as Haley passed him.

"Uh... Yeah, I guess," Haley said, swearing that the last time she had seen that man must have only been a couple of days ago, and Haley doubted that she'd grown since then.

---

"Mom? You home?" Nathan announced when he got home from work that evening. He doubted she was going to be home yet. She was almost never there. But to his surprise, she was standing there in the kitchen, waiting for him.

"Hey, honey," She said walking to him. "How are you?" She said not-so-casually. She had a concerned face, and Nathan knew that it wasn't just an every-day 'how are you?' She was really saying, 'I know you've been suffering. Do you want to talk about it?'

Nathan sighed and sat down at the table. His mom sat down across from him. "Not so good," Nathan answered, honestly. He could always talk to his mom about things.

"Is this about Haley?" She asked, knowing the answer. Her son could never be this torn up unless he had one hell of a broken heart. "Her not living here anymore?"

"It's not about her not living here anymore." Nathan said, "It's about her not being able to see me anymore. Mom, I don't know what to do. It's been over a week since she left my life, and yet I'm not getting any better. Every second I'm not with her, it just gets worse." Nathan said. It was true. He knew he could never get over someone like Haley. It was either be with her or be miserable forever. He just wanted to be with her. He just wanted to love her.

"I know, honey," She said taking his hand in hers soothingly. "Do you want to hear my advice? Although, I think you're taking this very well, I do have some words of wisdom, as your mother."

"Yeah, actually I'd love to hear it." Nathan said happy that his mother wanted to help. He knew that it was a good thing to talk to her.

"OK," Her mother said taking a deep breath, "You know I love you. And I know you very well. You are so deep in love with Haley, it kills you in times like these. And it kills me to see you like this. Yes, Haley did leave. And yes, you two are not together right now. But while Haley was here, if there was one thing that I learned it was that that girl is just about as crazy about you as you are about her. A love like the love you guys have is one that can never be broken. So my advice is this: _Don't_ let her go. Fight for her. Get her back. Don't let anything stand in your way."

"I've tried that-" Nathan started to say.

"Try again." Nathan's mother said simply, interrupting him. "And try harder." She gave his hand a squeeze and then left Nathan alone to think about things. He sat there for a while. But he was unable to think clearly. Sitting in his kitchen his thoughts were too jumbled up and he needed to clear his mind and figure out what to do. And there was only one place where he could do that.

"I'm going out!" He shouted to his mother in the next room.

"Mhm," his mother said trying to act disinterested, but she had a broad smile on her face.

---

Haley was finally able to free herself from the questions and comments about her from her father's business associates when she was sent into the kitchen to get more drinks. She went into he kitchen and only her mom was there, preparing appetizers.

"Oh, Haley," she said when Haley got there, "Honey, sit down for a minute, will you?" Haley looked at her weirdly. She was tired, and just wanted to rest, the last thing she needed was a conversation with her mother. Because those always ended badly. But, seeing no way out of this one, Haley sat down.

"Is something wrong?" her mother said. But it wasn't out of concern. Haley knew that it was just out of curiosity.

"No," Haley lied.

"Well then why aren't you smiling?"

Haley sighed. Why wasn't she smiling? Maybe because her own parents are stopping her from the love of her life. Maybe because for the last week, she's been nothing but miserable and alone. Not to mention the fact that even since she'd moved back into her house, her family had been nothing like a real family. She suddenly snapped.

"Why won't you let me talk to you about Nathan?" She said, her voice raised a little.

Her mother looked taken aback. "Haley," She said replacing her shocked expression, with a serious one, "Let's not talk about this now. This is hardly the time or the place."

"It's never the right time or place! But we have to talk about him sooner or later," Haley said.

"No Haley, that is where you are mistaken. We don't need to talk about that boy. Ever. Now, we have guests so-" Her mother tried to continue but Haley interrupted her, getting teary-eyed and upset.

"_That boy!_ His name is Nathan, mom! And that boy," Haley said lowering her voice, "is in love with me."

"So you may think, but-"

"And I'm in love with him, too," She said whispering now. A single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Haley, we can't have anymore of this nonsense. Now, go wipe your face and go back to the dinner party. We'll discuss his later," Her mother said and Haley knew that she would never discuss this with her again. Haley sighed.

"No, mom." Haley said calmly, making up her mind. "You are right about one thing, though. We can't have anymore of this nonsense. So just admit it, you and dad didn't ask me back to this house to be a family again." Haley said, trying to stay put together, but she was struggling.

"What are you saying? Of course we did."

"No, I mean a _real_ family. Not the fake family to show off in front of your friends. That's all you wanted. For you and dad not to be known as the family who's daughter moved out and moved into a poor family's home, where her boyfriend happens to live." Haley said. "God, why do you care so much about your image?"

"We're only doing what's best for you. If you stay with Nathan Scott, imagine yourself ten years from now. Poor and unhappy. Love fades, Haley, don't be so naive. Your father and I are only trying to build a life that you won't regret living." She said.

Haley could not believe that her mother had just said that. Love fades... Sure, it does, and Haley knew that. But not the kind she had. Not what her and Nathan had. And she wasn't going to doubt that for a second.

"Yeah, well you've done a great job," Haley said sarcastically, before getting the hell out of there.

---

Tears running down her cheeks, Haley ran out of her house and onto the street. She knew where she was going. Nathan's. Why hadn't she talked to him that day at school? She was the one who asked to talk to him and then she ended up running away. It was all just too much. She was tired of running. She loved Nathan. With all her heart. And she had never doubted that. So why had they not been together? Why had she let a stupid thing like her parents get in the way of that?

_You can't know, oh no_

_You can't know_

_How much I_

_Think about you, no_

_It's making my head spin_

Haley stopped running at a certain point and stopped to catch her breath. She wiped the tears from her face and looked around, noticing that she had stopped right at Echo Park. Considering this as a sign or something, or maybe just because she loved this place so much, she decided to stop there for a bit. The one place where she felt safe. Even when she wasn't with Nathan. Of course, this place used to just be a place for her to sit and think and escape from her parents and her boring life. But over the last couple of months it became so much more.

It became a place for her and Nathan to share their love. A place where everyone else on the planet except them two, disappeared. It had become their little corner of the universe, and Haley wished more than anything that they could have that again.

She had been sitting there for a while, just staring into space. Her mind filled with thoughts of only one person. The same person that occupied her heart. And the same person that now, Haley saw walking towards the park. She sat up, surprised to see him. The sight made her heart race and her mind turn foggy.

He didn't notice her until she got up and started walking towards him. When they were maybe ten feet away he finally turned his head and saw her there. His breath got caught in his throat. He hadn't expected to see her there. Her hair was up, but it was messy. Her clothes were formal, and her make-up was smeared; she had obviously been crying. In fact, she still was crying a little bit.

_Looking at you_

_And you are looking at me_

_And we both_

_Know what we want_

_hmmm So close to giving in_

Haley bit her lip. Inside she was yelling at herself to stop crying and pull it together. But the sight of him and the way she was making her heart ache, the way he looked so torn up, that all just made her cry harder.

Suddenly her legs stopped moving and she couldn't continue walking towards him. Something inside her stopped and she just stood there, sobbing into her hands. She crashed down on the ground. Nathan, with an alarmed expression on his face, raced over to where she was and bent down right in front of her.

"Haley!" He yelled, although it really wasn't necessary. She was just crying very hard. Without thinking, he automatically pulled him close to him and she just sobbed into his shoulder, holding on for dear life. He felt so good.

_Feel so nice_

_Of yeah you feel so nice_

_Wish I could spend the night_

_But I can't pay the price_

_Oh no, no_

Nathan breathed heavily, trying not to cry himself. Haley was crying enough for the both of them. He was holding on to her so tight. He never wanted to let go, but he knew he would have to at some point. It wasn't his responsibility to hold her anymore. And like it or not, he had to accept it.

_But I'm flying so high_

_High off the ground_

_When you're around_

_And I can feel your high_

_Rocking me inside_

_It's too much to hide_

Haley knew that she owed Nathan an explanation. She needed to tell him how she felt. What had happened. How she ended up hear. Crying on his shoulder. But she couldn't right now. Feeling Nathan's arms around her, she just couldn't let go. Not now.

_I know, oh yes_

_I know, that we can't_

_Be together_

_But, I just like to dream_

_It's so strange_

_The way our paths have crossed_

_How we were_

_Brought together_

_Hmmm It's written in the stars it seems_

"Haley," Nathan whispered into her hair, not even sure if she heard him.

Haley did heard him and she was brought back to reality, unfortunately, and she forced herself to pull away from Nathan's embrace and look at him.

"Why'd you run away today?" He asked.

_Feel so nice_

_Of yeah you feel so nice_

_I'd love to spend the night_

_But I can't pay the price_

_Oh no, no_

Haley sighed, her sobs slowing down now and she was able to speak. "I..." Haley started. But the truth was she didn't know why she ran away. "I guess..." Why did she? "I'm so sorry, Nathan. I don't know why I ran away. I should have talked to you." She said.

"I mean, were you going to say something, and then decided not to say it? 'Cause I with you would." Nathan said.

"No, I wanted to talk to you, but I just... I didn't know what to say. You were right." Haley said looking him in the eye. "About... everything. My parents, they don't want to be a family, they just wanted me back home for their reputation and every time I brought you up-" Haley said.

"They changed the subject?" Nathan answered for her.

_And I'm flying so high_

_High off the ground_

_When you're around_

_And I can feel your high_

_Touching me inside_

_And it's too much to hide_

Haley nodded shamefully. "God, Nathan, I never should have doubted you. I'm so sorry." Haley said as tears started to fall once again. Wow, these tears were just falling out of nowhere today. She felt so ashamed, Nathan was being so strong and she was falling apart right in front of him.

"Shhh, Hales, it's OK," Nathan whispered soothing as he wrapped Haley into a tight hug again.

"Nathan, what are we going to do?" Haley said. As much as she just wanted to live in this moment forever. She knew that she couldn't. It seemed like here, in their little corner of the universe all was fine. But out in the real world, they couldn't be together.

_Back to earth_

_Where did you take me to_

_I know there's no such thing_

_As painless love_

_Well it'll catch us up_

_And we can never win_

_But ohhh_

_I feel so alive_

_Ohhh Just wanna hold you_

_Hold you so tight_

"I don't know," Nathan admitted. He felt Haley pull away and she was about to say something. But he decided to talk first, "But we'll figure something out. Look, Hales, all that matters is that I love you. And I'm not giving you up."

Haley was about to say something. That no matter how much she wanted to, they couldn't be together in the real world. It just wouldn't work. But then he said those words. Those three mesmerizing words that made Haley's heart soar and all her doubts melt away. Tears were falling again, but this time they were tears of joy.

Suddenly, on impulse, Nathan just reached out for Haley, cupping her face in his hands and just kissed her all over. Kissing her tears away. He tried to avoid her lips, though, knowing that those were all Haley's shots to call. She needed to decide if she wanted to be with him. Haley wasn't even thinking anymore. She was drowning in Nathan's kisses, in his love. When she couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed Nathan's waist and kissed him hard on the lips.

It wasn't long before Nathan parted his lips and their tongues were battling it out. Call it making up for lost time. But in that moment the world was revolving around them. Their bodies pressed together, joined at the lips, not ever wanting to let go, they expressed their love in that simple moment.

_And I'm flying so high_

_High off the ground_

_When you're around_

_And I can feel your high_

_Touching me inside_

_And it's too much to hide_

Haley was the first to pull away after a long while. Panting hard, and their eyes locked on each other, filled with love and passion. "I love you," Haley said. She had to say it. "I love you so much."

_And I'm flying so high_

_High off the ground_

_When you're around_

---

**AN: Hey! I hope you liked that long update! That song was 'Flying High' by Jem. If you guys don't know that song you should really read the lyrics because they're really beautiful and the song is amazing! It was actually in an episode of OTH. Anyway, please review! Thanks for reading! Only two more chapters left!**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: Hi, thank you so much for all the reviews: Nathanlvr, mistydm, AngelLuva, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, and chelle2911.**

**Chapter 29**

"I don't want to go," Haley breathed into Nathan's chest, still damp from her tears earlier. They had stayed there a little longer in each other's embrace. Stealing a kiss once in a while, whispering sweet nothing's into one another's ears, just reveling in the feeling that they hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. Nathan tightened his hold on her.

"Then don't, come with me back to my house," Nathan said, completely serious, resting his head on top of hers, rocking her slightly.

Haley actually considered this, but she knew it wasn't the right thing to do. As much as she wanted to just leave and be with Nathan and live with him, she also wanted to, once and for all have an honest, real, adult conversation with her parents about Nathan. If they didn't love her enough, to understand, than she would be able to finally let them go, now that Nathan was here to break her fall.

She knew that she could live without them. But she wasn't going to be the one to make that decision this time. It was Nathan that she couldn't live without, and if they couldn't see that, than too bad for them. But she needed to try and sort it out first.

"I need to go back home," Haley said sighing into Nathan's chest and then pulling back a little to look him in the eye. "I need to talk to them," She said knowing that Nathan understood who 'them' was.

Nathan nodded, he understood what she was saying. "Do you want me to come with you?" He asked concerned. He knew how sensitive Haley was, especially now, he wanted to support her.

"No," Haley said finally, although she was tempted to take him up on his offer. "I need to do this alone," She said, not ready to let him go.

"Okay," Nathan said, not letting her go either. He took a deep breath, the sooner she left, the sooner she came back, he told himself. He leaned down and his lips met hers in a searing kiss before he pulled back.

"I'll be here waiting," He told her, relieving her. Slowly, and regretfully, Haley got up, wiped her face and gave Nathan a weak smile. "It'll be okay," He reassured her, not so sure about this himself.

"Thank you," She whispered before turning around and slowly walking back to her house. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Nathan sitting in the same position looking at her intensely.

---

Haley stood in front of her door for a couple minutes before gathering the courage she needed just to open it. By then the dinner party had thankfully ended, and Haley found both her parents in the living room.

"It's not going to fade," Haley said quietly entering the room. Her mom and dad looked up at her confused. They tried to show no emotions through their faces, like they always did. It made Haley wonder. Why do some people try so hard to be inhuman?

"Excuse me?" Haley's mother asked.

"The love Nathan and I have. You told me it was going to fade. It's not," Haley said confidently.

"This Nathan Scott nonsense, again?" Her father said, obviously mad. He barely ever spoke to her, but this particular subject seemed to peak his interest. "Lydia, I thought you'd talked to her about this," He said to her mother.

"I did," She said defensively and then turned back to Haley, "Haley, honey, we already talked about this. And where have you been? You can't just walk out when we have _guests_ here," She said as if guests were the most important thing in the world.

"I had something I had to take care of," Haley said sitting down in the armchair across from them.

"Oh, like strutting around with Nathan Scott?" Her father said in a strong tone, that significantly showed his disapproval.

"I wouldn't call it 'strutting around', but yes, actually," Haley said, but then she decided to ease up a little. "Look," She said making her voice smaller, "I'm sure that if you just met him-"

"We did meet him, remember?" Her father said, "When he devised that whole plan to humiliate Jared, remember?"

"To _catch_ Jared, dad!" Haley yelled, that was enough. There is a line, and he had just crossed it. "How could I even think that you guys would understand," She wondered out loud.

"Honey, we understand," Her mother said, "We understand that you're young, and that you have a crush, but-"

"_I'm in love with him!_" Haley said, wondering when they were going to get that fact into their minds.

"_But_," Her mother continued, "In this family we cannot take risks like that. Is this... this fling really worth the bad name you're putting upon this family and yourself?" She asked completely seriously.

"Look," Haley said calming down again. One last attempt to get them to understand. If they don't want to hear it, fine, Haley thought, wishing it were actually that simple. "If it were just a fling do you really think that right now I would be considering choosing him over my own family?"

The room suddenly turned absolutely silent. Haley could barely hear herself think, but that could be because she wasn't thinking. Her eyes were watered, but she promised herself she wouldn't cry. Her head ached and her voice felt like it was going to break from shaking so much.

Haley didn't need to hear it. She didn't need to hear those words, her parents telling her that if she was with Nathan, she couldn't be their daughter. It wasn't a new feeling to her. And right now, she didn't want to or need to hear it. She saw it in their blank, emotionless faces.

She got up to leave, finally having her answer, and finally ready to let them go. By leaving this house she was making a statement. And she promised herself she wasn't going to look back, not for a second. Before leaving she said one last thing to her former parents, "When you realize what a huge mistake you're making, your apologies are always welcome," She said cooly before closing the door behind her and not once looking back.

---

Haley took off running towards Echo Park, the second her feet touched the sidewalk. She kept her eyes dry and her focus straight, trying not to think about the place she just left behind, but only about the place she was running towards.

Was this all really worth it? Haley wondered as she reached Echo Park. But the second she saw Nathan there waiting for her, she knew she was a fool to ever even doubt that he was worth it. Her heart filled with love when she saw him and her feet moved against the grass even faster.

Nathan stood up and stretched out his arms wide with a smile on his face. It was amazing how every second he was making Haley more and more sure about her decision. She felt wanted. Loved. And when she reached Nathan she couldn't help a smile from forming on her face as she jumped into his arms with so much energy to make them topple over.

Laughing and rolling onto the grass, Haley was freed from all the despair she had just felt and she had been feeling for a week away from Nathan. She turned to face Nathan lying next to her staring up at the sky. He seemed like he was in his own little world and he was pretty lost in thought, so he was surprised when he felt Haley nipping at his neck, and then kissing her way up to his face.

Her lips found his and they kissed again, reveling in the feeling. Their hearts were beating so fast they felt like they were going to explode. But far too soon, if you asked Nathan, Haley pulled away. She propped herself up on her elbow.

"Let's go home," She whispered.

---

**AN: OK guys, there is one last chapter left! I hope you liked this one, and thank you so much for reading. Please leave a review!**


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: Thanks for the awesome reviews to: gubercootichunks, chelle2911, AngelLuva, Nathanlvr, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, pam211, mistydm, Naleylovin'Princess, and Hera Agathon! Here we go for the final chapter of Our Little Corner of the Universe!**

**Chapter 30**

Friends. Family. Love. The three things people say they can't live without. The three essentials in life. But when you think about it, aren't they the same thing? Friends and Family are those that you Love, right? Those that are dear to you, close to you, that you surround yourself with. Some people may even be lucky enough to find these three things in only one person. One human being whom they are best friends with, who has become their family, and whom they love. Someone who is lucky to find that, is bound to never let it go.

The next day, Nathan and Haley acted particularly normal. As if that last week or so had not passed. Haley didn't feel like talking about her parents, and she didn't feel like she needed to. She had reached a new level of forgetting about them. Of course she could never forget about them completely, and they would probably reappear in her life sooner or later. But she was over it. She knew where she belonged and that she had made the right decision.

"You two are acting sickeningly sweet," Peyton remarked as soon as they entered hand in hand in the school. She wasn't surprised, no one really was. They knew it wasn't going to take long for them to find each other once again.

Nathan looked down adoringly at Haley and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess," He said casually, offering no additional information. He bent down and kissed Haley on the lips. "I got to go to class, see you later." Haley nodded and whispered a good-bye.

"Tutorgirl, could you be blushing any more? Wow, was the make-up sex that good?" Brooke asked jokingly. She couldn't contain her happiness that Nathan and Haley were finally back together. In fact, the whole gang was pretty much down the whole time they were apart, they just didn't really function correctly without Nathan and Haley happily together.

"Shut up," Haley said blushing even more and turning her attention to her locker. The girls got on either side of her and waited. "And... yes, it was," Haley admitted still keeping her focus on her books.

Brooke squealed and Peyton laughed. Haley couldn't help but smile. There would probably never be a moment in the near future, when she would not be smiling. It just didn't seem like an option. When she was so lucky and so happy and so in love, why waste any time not smiling?

---

Haley, standing outside of the school building, waiting for Nathan in the parking lot, felt her eyes being covered by someone's hand and being turned around and kissed right there.

"Hey you," Haley said when Nathan pulled away.

"Hey you," Nathan repeated and dipped in to kiss her once more, loving the feeling. It had been to long... OK, so only since lunch, which they had spent pretty much the whole time making out in the hall way. His heart felt full when he was with Haley. And when he was kissing her even more so. But when they were apart, a piece of his heart, maybe even the whole thing, was missing. But to have gained it back, was the best feeling there was.

"I'm tired, let's go home," Haley exclaimed when they had pulled apart.

"Well, I can drop you off, but I've got work," Nathan said, sad that he couldn't spend the rest of the day with her. That's right, Haley told herself. She had forgotten about work. She should probably start working again too. And the funny thing was, she was kind of excited about it.

Haley pouted, "Okay, I'll wait up till you get back, then we can have dinner or something," She suggested.

"Sounds great," Nathan said as they got into the car and drove off.

---

The second Haley heard footsteps outside, she shot up and ran to the door. It was about nine o'clock and she was missing Nathan like crazy. She tried watching TV, doing homework, listening to music, but nothing could distract her.

Right when Nathan was about to put his key in the lock the door swung open at full speed, surprising Nathan so that he jumped back in shock. Haley had to stop herself from laughing.

"Sorry," She mumbled. Nathan smirked. She was just so cute.

"It's OK, babe, I was eager to see you too," He admitted, coming inside, "In fact, I couldn't keep my mind off you the whole time I was working," He added.

Haley blushed and smiled. The things he said... How did she deserve him? "So, do you want to go out to dinner?" She suggested.

"Yeah, let's go."

---

"Nate, where are we going, this is not the way to Karen's," Haley noticed. They were going in the exact opposite direction.

"I know. We're not going to Karen's." He said.

"Why not?" Haley asked, a little disappointed. They always went to Karen's. Plus it would be an opportunity to ask Karen about getting her job back.

"Just.. because..." He said vaguely, keeping his gaze straight ahead. Hm, something was going on here, Haley told herself.

"Well, where are we going?" Haley asked suspiciously.

"Don't you trust me?" Nathan asked, smirking and looking over at her. Haley didn't answer him. Of course she trusted him. She was just hungry.

---

Haley was beginning to recognize where they were going. A smile crept on her face and she suddenly got really excited. But none of that compared to the emotions that overpowered her once Nathan parked the car and led them to their destination. Of course, he had driven them to the one, the only, Echo Park.

Although on any average day it did not look the same. Tonight it was special. Tonight it was illuminated by candle light. Tonight there was a small table, just big enough for two, wrapped in a beautiful white tablecloth, in the middle of the park. Tonight it was breathtaking.

"Oh," Haley gasped when everything sank in. "Wow," was all she could say. Nathan walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you-"

"I love it," Haley said before Nathan could finish his sentence. Nathan looked satisfied with his work.

"You know, we're supposed to go over there. You don't need to just stand here and stare at it all night," Nathan said mockingly. Haley blushed, and let out an embarrassed laugh and then ran off to the table.

---

Mid-way through their meal, Haley realized that she hadn't even properly thanked Nathan for all of this.

"Nathan, this is incredible," She said, still getting over the shock of it all, "Thank you so much." She said as she walked over to his side of the table and kissing him deeply.

"I don't deserve this," She said as they pulled away.

"What? Hales, of course you do. Hold on a second," He said reaching for something in his pocket, "I was going to wait until later tonight for this, but what the hell, right? Here," He said handing her a small, white envelope.

"What is this?" Haley asked taking it and opening it.

"Read it and find out," Nathan said, his insides jumping around like crazy. But on the outside he remained calm. But he didn't know how much longer he could stay like that. His palms were getting sweaty and his breaths were getting shorter.

Haley opened up the folded piece of paper found in the envelope. Curiously, she read the note:

_Hales,_

_I have not had the time to rehearse_

_But I feel it in your kiss_

_Here at our little corner of the universe_

_I would like to ask you this..._

Haley looked up from the note to find Nathan kneeling in front of her on one knee. Wow, she thought, it almost looks like he's going to-

She gasped, and her hand automatically came up to her mouth. Her eyes were wide, and her heart racing.

"Nathan-"

"Hales, listen to me," Nathan said, his hands were shaking but his voice was steady. He was ready.

"But, Nathan-"

"I could love you forever," He said, "You make me the happiest man alive, and the sooner I can be the closest to you ever, the better. I don't want to ever lose you-"

"You won't-"

"Marry me," He said simply, holding out his hand for her to take. He didn't have a ring. As sorry as he was, he couldn't afford one. But he knew that superficial things like that didn't interest Haley. It was all really the same. He was just giving himself to her. But would she take him?

He was. He said it. He proposed. What now? What was there to do now? An answer might be a good idea... But what answer? Haley mind was spinning and she didn't know how much longer she would even be able to stand on her own two feet.

"Nathan, we're... we're in high school," Haley said.

"So?" Nathan said, throwing the idea over is shoulder as if it didn't make a difference if they were seventeen or if they were thirty. "We're also in love. We're also perfect for each other. And I want to make a commitment. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want the rest of my life to start now."

"Married," Haley whispered. This was crazy. Insane. Some may say it was even impossible... But then again, isn't that what people said when her and Nathan started going out? Wasn't it them who said that it could never work? And here it was, working. And deep down, Haley knew for a fact that Nathan was the one she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Nathan was right, why couldn't the rest of her life start now?

"I know it sounds like a big step, Hales, because it is. It's not normal for high schoolers to get married, I get that. But I'm not normal. Our relationship isn't normal. What I'm feeling is _definitely_ not normal. Hales, I love you more than anything," He said his voice cracking a little, but he was keeping it together. He had to.

"I know, Nathan, I love you too. So much," Haley said her eyes tearing up a little. Was this really happening?

"So, I'll ask you again," He paused, and swallowed, "Haley James, will you marry me?" He said holding his hand out again, and this time, Haley took all her strength to extend hers out to meet his.

She blinked away the tears, threatening to fall, and smiled, "Yes," She whispered, "Yes," She repeated a little louder this time.

The expression on Nathan's face was worth a thousand dollars, a thousand words. Pure bliss, and happiness and love. The most raw and beautiful emotions written clearly across both their faces and in their smiles. And it was those same emotions that were expressed and the kiss that they shared, passion running through them.

Maybe they would get married the next day. Maybe in the next couple of years. Maybe later they would have kids. Maybe they wouldn't. All that wasn't really of their concern right then. All that mattered was the fact that they were both lucky enough to find their significant other. Their one true person who was their best friend, their family, and their love, all at once.

---

The End

**AN: OK, I really hope that you guys liked it! I was really debating with myself whether or not that ending was believable or not, but then I decided 'hey, it happened in the show!' But all the bad stuff won't happen in this story. Just imagine a happily ever after type of thing, lol. I'm a sucker for a happy ending! Anyway, I'm dying to hear what you guys think of this, so please review! Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed! It has made me unbelievably happy to share this story with you and to hear what you guys think about it, so thank you again! Much Love!**

**Oh! and please look out two more stories that I'm going to post! One Naley one called Inevitable and one Jeyton one called Simply Because. I'll probably post them next week!**


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